The Boy Down the Street
by druidgoddess
Summary: It's a dark night...and something's back to finish the job...DxS fluff
1. Conversations

Yes, this is my first Danny Phantom post. I have done quite a bit of Dead Poets Society previous to this. So if you love Charlie Dalton as much as me, then I suggest you head over to my bio...;) I will now give you the first chapter of 'Conversations'. I have to tell you now that this won't be updated as often as 'Keep Them Guessing' because I am mainly devoted to writing my DPS fiction. K? K!

I knew that things were different as soon as high school was in full swing. Second semester full swing. We weren't counted as stupid freshman anymore, just plain freshman, after mid-year exams. But I digress.

What I want to say is how things were different.

I had my two friends, best friends, it didn't matter that they were guys, it never had. I was still me, still the stubborn and righteous Goth, Danny was still Danny (Ok, well, maybe not the same Danny in the same sense), still the clueless kid from the down the street that was hopelessly adorable, and Tucker was still Tucker, still nerd from lord knows where. Yes, I know that was pointless, but I must assert these facts as they are relevant later.

It was January at the time and I was freezing my ass off walking home. Cold, cold, cold, cold, was my inner chant as my heavy boots thudded on the iced over pavement. Did I want to be walking home? No, I didn't. I'd missed my bus because I had been trying to help Danny with one of the usual disturbances, but, unlike him, I couldn't go straight through a wall to escape the wrath of Lancer. So I had been caught, of course, and was put in detention, the inevitable. So here I was, marching through the streets of Amity in the early twilight of the winter months with a cross expression on my face. It was about ten degrees as it was, but when the temperature plunged further, I knew someone was coming to make an apology.

"You know, leaving me to cover for you is not a very chivalrous act." I said.

"Well, what did you want me to do?" Danny asked from somewhere behind me. There was a flash of light and the sound of sneakers dropping onto cement. I paused and waited for Danny to catch up. In the growing dark, my friend had abandoned his normal eye color for a nearly neon but definitely glowing green. Still shivering from his paranormal activities, he leveled himself with me and hooked his arm through mine. Oblivious to the fact that I was carrying about four textbooks, all of which I nearly dropped.

"Oh, you should pat attention more!" I chided as I caught them. He laughed and blinked his green eyes. I knew why he kept them, they made it easier to see in the dark, but still. "You should get rid of those."

"I know, but I'm lazy."

"What if someone sees you?" I reminded him.

"Nothing I haven't already dealt with."

I'd hooked my arm back through his, it was certainly warmer than being on my own. I exhaled plumes of white breath and pressed on with my walk, this time with my head resting on Danny's shoulder. But I was still cold, so very cold. Danny! I checked and god damn, he hadn't gotten rid of those eyes! I pushed him a little. "Dan, still affecting the temperature."

"Oh." he blinked, and the baby blues I had been jealous of since first grade were back. I saw my house looming off down the end of the street. We slowed down and I closed my eyes, listening to what I could hear of a heartbeat and blood rushing through his parka, which wasn't much. It had been an extraordinarily long day. I walked up to my door and looked back to say goodbye as it began to snow. Danny was standing in the pool of light from the street lamp, a normal kid from down the street. I waved; he grinned in his way that made me feel like nothing would ever change and vanished from sight in the blink of an eye. I laughed as I closed my front door behind me. I leaned against it and sighed as the heat of the house brought the sting of feeling back to my ears, my fingers, my toes and my face.

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I was doing homework later when the phone rang. I checked caller ID, Danny.

"What was the scie-

"Science was read pages 628-31, do questions 1-8 on page 632."

"And Eng-

"English was to read chapters 1-4 in 'To Kill A Mockingbird'."

"Ma-

"Math, workbook pages 56-7 evens."

"S-

"Spanish, get ready for your oral tomorrow. Anything else?" I finished.

"No. Thanks Sam."

"Hey!" I cracked a smile as I cradled the phone on my shoulder. "You said thanks."

"So? What's the big deal?"

"Countless days of telling you what you forgot, this is the first time you've said 'Thanks'."

"And?"

"I really like that."

"Sam..."

"Mm?"

"Never mind."

"Ok."

"Bye."

"Bye."

I hung up the phone and went back to math. After math, English and then I was done. My closet was raided for clothing for the next day. I was in a very purple mood picking up a purple turtleneck, scarf and boots. I settled on black jeans and coat. As different as this was from my normal apparel choice, there was no sense in being cold...even if your best friend was there holding your hand.

Ok I need a little feed back! **FunMnky444**, I hope I got that right, if you find this my fellow fangirl, hope you enjoy because that little e-mail thing you sent me helped! And just keep thinking Danny on horseback, Danny on horseback, ohm! ;) And everyone else, remember, I won't be updating consistently because I have other commitments I want to finish first. I know, that's not the hottest thing to say, but I'm going to try, ok? Ok! I actually have written something previous, but it is not on this name. Check the name Rohwen Edhel for'Going Home', my first Danny Phantom fic.See ya later! - The Druidess


	2. School

**FunMnky444: **Glad to please! Um, and I don't understand leet. Iay owkni uyoay owkni inarae.

**Cakreut12: **lol! I was going to do something like that when I was done with this, but I guess you've beat me to it!

**Kitty00240: **Here's your update!

**AlwaysWrite: **Awesome name, and thank you. I'm usually awful at intros. Oh, and I too are addicted to Ben and Jerry's. I'm a Cookie Dough and Fudge Center person. Also, I've done a bunch of Dead Poets Society stuff, that's my favorite movie! I love Charlie… ((sighs))

((hands out cookie to the reviewers))

It was the normal mundane the next day. Hypocritical teachers, witless jocks, brain dead girls ((cough))((Paulina))((cough)) and the less popular sect that we belonged to. It's not all that bad, I suppose, but I still mean what I say entirely. Morning was dull, I spent it doodling in my notebooks and taking notes. English, though we were reading the powerful and emotional novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Lancer was able to make it seem, well, boring. Danny had gone to sleep within the first few seconds, a new record. It usually takes minutes.

So, somehow, we made it to lunch without any major distractions. Ok, well, Dash did _try_ to stuff Danny in a locker, only to find when he looked away for a second, he'd disappeared, so it was really Tucker who'd suffered that one. I was exempt from the locker stuffing because I was a girl, but not the verbatim brawls. I was trying to get the locker open as Dash and crew laughed hysterically.

"Look at Goth girl, what's wrong? Did I stuff your boyfriend in there?" Dash was teasing. I just continued trying to free the lock. With Tucker's weight straining against it, it was stuck. I jiggled it and tried again. Tuck was yelling hysterically.

"What is this? Nerds for Nerds?" Some one near the back spouted off. Real witty, real, real witty. I made a fist and slammed it into the locker door. This accomplished two things: The assembled crowd suddenly shut up and the lock made a soft click. I opened the door and poor Tuck fell out onto my feet. With his glasses askew, I helped him to his feet. The kids began laughing again. I dragged Tucker away; he bobbed behind me like a sled. As we passed the lab, Danny poked his head through the door.

"Is it safe?" he looked around the hall.

"Yeah." I said blocking the doorway as he stepped completely through it. Danny looked at stunned Tuck.

"What happened to him?"

"Dash just had to stuff some one in a locker."

Danny made a sorry face. Tucker was still in post-stuffing shock and Danny wound up helping him walk to the cafeteria. As soon as we put food under his nose, what do you know; he perked right up and began stuffing his face with hamburger. I frowned at the meat, disapproving and favoring a salad myself, but I knew I wasn't going to win _that_ battle. Danny was eating up too, with one on either side of me, it was quite the spectacle; I buried my head in my arms for a second before begging, again, for them to please, please, please use some table manners.

"That's for at home." Tucker said through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"Yeah, at school, no one cares." Danny seconded.

"I care." I grumbled.

"Vegetarians." Tucker said into his plate as he bent lower to scoop more food into his mouth.

"I heard that!"

"I know; that was the whole point."

"Guys, not here, not now." Danny reprimanded us. I went back to my salad. Lord, there was nothing to do now.

"Movies at my house Friday?" I asked. The guys love my basement, and I guess it's totally awesome, but why be all snotty and superior 'cause your parents are loaded? That's just not me; I think equality is the way to go.

"What's on the screen this week?" Danny asked. I began laughing; my parents had been watching some R rated stuff this week. I had gotten quite a shock this morning when I had turned the TV on for the news and gotten a sex scene from Troy. After screaming WHOA! I shut the DVD player off and found Channel 10.

"The parents have gotten into some less than nice movies. But the library is always open." I told them.

"Well, how about…ah, great." Danny's mouth had spewed steam. The temperature change that only he could detect meant one thing: ghost. "Cover me."

Tuck and I blocked him from view and there was flash of light. I could feel him rushing off; Tucker hated the sensation and was shivering. I went back to my lunch and hoped Danny would be quick. After all, there was only ten minutes until the bell and sixth period.

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Danny would tell you, ok, maybe _he _wouldn't tell you exactly, but one of the best parts of doing the whole intangible act was being able to sneak into class without getting caught. This required an inattentive class, a scatter brained teacher and a seat in back. Sixth period Spanish met all of these requirements, and the fact that Downey let you pick your own seats only helped, meaning we had picked a back corner where Danny was well hidden behind me and shielded on the side by Tuck. The late bell had just rung and Downey had shut the door.

I rolled my eyes as Danny appeared in the minute window in the door and he vanished quickly. No, faded from sight is more like it. And he materialized behind me, right as the teacher got to his name on the attendance list. The poor woman couldn't figure it out…she hadn't seen Fenton enter room.

After Spanish it was on to Math. From Math it was home. I felt my eyelids droop as Sunderland droned on about something about integers. Normally I pay attention, but I let myself slip today. I was near a window with the sun streaming in, making me pleasantly warm and sleepy. With my head propped up on my hand, I went to sleep. Of course, you know falling asleep in class never ends well. Sunderland caught me and it was extra homework all around. Hey, I'm not perfect.

I was out of the Math wing before the entirety of my class decided to corner me. I waited at the entrance of the school for the guys. It was still absolutely freezing out and I had forgotten gloves. So smart, right? Anyway, here they came, all hyped up from gym class. Ok, fine, Tuck looked like he was going to drop and Danny's hair was sticking straight up from probably out running, or pretending to, balls. Another great thing he'd never tell you about. The ghost thing made dodgeball that much less painful.

In the freezing afternoon, we walked home. It was the usual afternoon banter, who's house to hang at? Today it was decided, Danny's. He hates that. You know how embarrassing your parent can be, know multiply it by ten and you might actually get close to Mr. and Mrs. Fenton. It's not that their bent on doing it, embarrassing Danny, it's sort of unintentional, but extremely effective. As in he's never going to be able to live some of their antics down. Ever. Like that whole stint being the advisors in the ghost crisis? The only people who don't really remember that are the ones who were overshadowed, the rest, and those are many, eh, do.

I'm doing it, getting off my topic. I know you must be thinking, what is wrong with her? I'll get there…eventually, there's just much in between. I rubbed me hand furiously together and blew on them. Stupid, stupid, stupid for forgetting my gloves. Now I was really cold. And I guess I was fussing over my poor hands with still about half a mile to Danny's house. Tuck was PDA overpowered at the moment, as in he'd downloaded Bejeweled and was playing it obsessively. Constantly. It was annoying.

"Sam, wassup?" Danny was asking.

"Oh, the usual. Extra homework, an A crowd with the superior issue shoved way up their asses and I'm cold. Why do we live in this part of the country again?"

He laughed and took off his own gloves. He tossed them at me and I caught them with thanks. "You're cold?" he echoed.

"It is ten degrees out."

"Yeah," he said, putting an arm around my shoulders, "But don't let it get to you."

I pulled on the gloves and rested my head on his shoulder. "I'll try, but I make no promises."

Ok, it wasn't my best work, but it was a faster update than I expected. Reviews please! I give out cookies and all sorts of sweets because I have them stored all over the place here. C ya – the Druidess


	3. Sometimes You Just Say 'Damn'

**PhantomAL**: ((laughs)) I ain't got any issues with guys on fan fiction…I could like a guy who writes, gods, half the dudes I know wouldn't be caught dead writing and being creative. Thanks, you're pretty good yourself. ((hands over cake)) I know, acing writing and English only makes you want to rebel more! I would know, Honors English ain't no piece o' cake.

**Halfa-Goddess**: Ya, we've met. FunMnky444 and her noble attempts to unite the Danny Phantom loving world. ((hands over Twizzlers)) And really, really thanks for the vocabulary bit!

**Phantom515**: YES! It helped, but we won't be seeing results until later chapters…;) ((gives her some Hershey's chocolate)) Go and bounce off the walls!

**DannyPhantomLover**: Um, plot? What plot? I don't remember what a plot is…any hoo this is just like a slice o' life deal. Pointless and sweet.

**_Je vous remercerie aussi_**:

**Phantomlover**, **DarkCraver**, **Ryuu no Taiyo**, **SaD4e**, **scubagurl**, **Divagurl277**, and **Spongewolf** (interesting name there) ((hands out cookies to all the reviewers))

Yes, it had been another day in paradise…that is if paradise was a past-its-prime-but-still-not-updated school. Oh yes; now the whole paradise situation had shifted to Danny's room. With him trying to keep his father out, of course, because there was a new gadget to be messed with and mommy was out at the time. Jack Fenton's fists were persistent against the door.

"Come on! This won't take long! We need to try out the Fenton-

"No thank you Dad!" Danny yelled as he braced his skinny little body against the threatening to give wood. I was positively sure that the door was going to shatter into a million little pieces at any moment. Then it appeared that something came to Danny (which is saying something, on the norm it takes him a little while to think of solutions; need we be reminded of Desirée?)

"Tucker. Water bottle. Now!" he said swiftly. Tuck tossed him his water bottle and Danny put it through the door. Mr. Fenton's retreating footsteps came quickly and faded down the hall. I wonder.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Let's just say he thinks he 'went to the little ghost hunter's room' in his pants."

Tucker nearly fell off his chair laughing; he was so distracted that when his PDA fell off and onto the floor it took him a full twenty seconds to realize it had done so. I was, well, I wanted to laugh, but that was so wrong and, yet, so funny. I wound up biting my lip and trying to keep the laughter in.

"You can laugh Sam." Danny said easily.

"That wasn't right and you know it." I admonished. Fine, I was sort of laughing at the same time, so it wasn't as effective, at all. The boys just settled into a giddy state and directed the laughter at me. I scooped up pillows and began pelting them. You know, but of course, they passed right through Danny (not Tuck, who remember this for weeks to come) and he was able to throw them right back at me. I was soon buried beneath a mountain of fluff. They were digging me out, granted, but Danny Fenton, being the torture genius he is, a skill honed by years of being a younger brother, began tickling me, which was unfair by all counts. I fought back, shoving him over and knocking the breath out of him. The commotion was promptly ended by Jazz.

"What are you doing in there?" she queried after knocking. "Is it legal? Do I need to come in there?"

"NO!" we all shouted.

"Oh, good, Tucker's in there. I'd just heard you and Sam, Danny. Unless of course-

My starting up of the stereo drowned her out; the station was one that pumped out popular crap. I twisted the knob until I hit a station of halfway decent music and then it was homework.

"So if the inequality in 5y times 4t minus 3 is less that 3t plus 7y plus 2 than the answer is y is less than 7?" Danny was scratching his head with his pencil as he mangled an algebra problem. I was valiantly trying to help him, but the with all the lines and smeared eraser marks had destroyed all rhyme and reason that the problem might have originally possessed. Tucker save me from explaining and took over. Apparently that cramming machine had been good for something as his grades were on the rise. I opted for finishing my English. Hm, Scout and verbal phrases, personally, I preferred Scout alone, but we can't always get what we want, can we? Well, some people do, but that makes them A-List losers who are never going to make it to college or even have real lives after college and seem to attract every boy in the school to them, why, why, WHY must Danny crush on Paulina so willingly! What has she ever done for him-

I'm sorry, excuse me for a moment.

Ok, sorry about that. Another thing that was slightly different: since when I was I so protective of Danny? Tucker on the other had, well, he was hopeless with the opposite sex. But Danny, and I loathe the day some one figures this out, is so sweet and adorable…that just came out of my mouth, didn't it? Also, since when did I describe him like that? Sure, it's the truth, but that makes me sound…like I was crushing. I was losing it. I rubbed my temples as a headache came on.

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Tucker and I stayed for dinner that evening. Tucker just likes Mrs. Fenton's cookies and my parents had decided (spur of the moment) that a vacation in Milan was just the thing they needed, leaving me with my grandmother who spent most of the time zipping around the house on her scooter and playing poker with her girlfriends. So I was polishing off another plate of spaghetti with a thick garden style sauce. If I ever ate over, it was almost always pasta. I think because that would be the only non-meat based dish that could be whipped up fast in the Fenton household. Dinner wasn't bad…the table conversations, however, were more along the lines of…interesting. Between Jack and Jazz's ghost and psycho babble it was like one really big, long and confusing sentence.

"And then the Fenton-

"I started a new case study today. On the effects of-

"It's got a really big blaster and-

"We now they are effecting the youth of the count-

"Then I accidentally blew out the-

"So my subject is now-

"We're going to have to call the contractor-

"Tomorrow I shall interview the subject and-

"Dessert!" Mrs. Fenton presented the table with cookies. Everyone pounced in then, except for me. I don't pounce; I wait for Danny or Tucker, and it's almost always Danny, to throw me back a cookie or two. Yep, sure enough here they came. Mm, chocolate chip, a classic. My mom doesn't cook herself. After all, why do it if you have a chef right? I love these home cooked meals, it's totally schmaltzy to say that, I know, and it's not like I don't love my parents to death, but sometimes I wish we were a normal family. And in comparison to my friend's families, I use the term 'normal' very loosely, very, very loosely. The hours in the clock were slipping by and soon I had to go home, as did Tucker; but at least there wasn't a prune juice junkie waiting for him.

"Danny why don't you walk Sam home? She shouldn't be out alone, especially with all of the ghosts around." Mrs. Fenton alluded. I knew what was up. Yes, there were those nasty ghosts but it seemed, like everyone else, she thought that her son and I were on the verge of dating, or whatever. At least she didn't call it loser love, just thought it was cute. So we set off down the street, together, alone. Danny decided he didn't want to walk; he wanted to fly. As cold as it was, I agreed because flying is one of the most exciting things you'll ever do. I hope no one ever saw us, that would just prompt teasing from Tucker about the happy couple and the rest of the town to drive me insane as to where the ghost boy was. All for maybe Paulina, who was head over heels for Danny _Phantom_, who would want to know if he said anything about her and to stay the hell away, he was hers.

I know most girls would die for a chance for their guys to hold them as close as we had to hold each other to keep aloft. It was a pleasant night below and a beautiful one above with stars burning bright and the moon giving off her silver sheen. We were a block to my house when disaster struck. Disaster meaning Paulina, meaning Danny wanted to talk to her while he was still the Phantom, meaning he set me down and sped off. I watched his figure retreated and wanted to scream. 'What about me! I got you here because _you _were supposed to be walking _me_ home! ME! Pay attention to me!', but of course, I didn't, I just walked the rest of the way home in sullen, sulky silence.

_You went away, damn  
Mixed up fixed out  
Don't forget who got you here, damn_

There we are! A chapter of newness! Reviews are appreciated/wanted/needed! I got so many for chapter 2! It made me a very happy goddess, but please call me Dru. That little bit right there is from Matchbox 20. **Danny: **You bet, she has an addiction to the sound of Rob Thomas' voice. **Dru: **Where did you come from? **Sam: **Yeah, she says when he sings 'Damn' every time he says damn he does this little purr thing- **Dru: **Stop that! No one is supposed to know that! **Danny and Sam: **Hey, we'll say what we want here. **Dru: **Not fair! **Danny: **You writing this story isn't fair. **Dru: **Well, them's the brakes kiddo. You're fictional and I'm an authoress. **Sam: **We're not any older than you, don't us kiddo. **Dru: **Ugh, here just listen to some music downloads while I think. I have Green Day. **Danny and Sam: **Ok then!


	4. The Jealousy Bug

**PhantomAL: **Uff, what are ya, a cynic? ((laughs)) no offence man. Good news about your dating is nice to hear. You don't want to be a cynic like me. Means I can write romance, but, um, real life, no way José, scared to death of it. And I'm fifteen.

**ChalaZae: **Merci beaucoup! I usually confuse people around where I live with a large vocabulary. ((cough))cow town((cough)) but thank you babe, I'm trying hard to make everything sound real, it's nice to know when you've succeeded!

_**Je vous remercerie aussi:**_

**masami yada, scubagurl, cakreut12, Sqweakie the Wonder Mouse **(love that name y'all!)

The next morning I was _skulking_ and who can blame me? It dropped into the negatives last night and I nearly became a 'Sam-sicle'! Damn, hormonal, single mided boys! I slammed my locker shut with all the force I could. Last night, when I had arrived home alone Grandma got a little worried.

"Where is that cute little boyfriend of yours?" she'd asked. I had gritted my teeth and growled in reply. The older woman had backed off as I seethed with unusual rage, wishing I could kill Danny for making me walk. I marched to my room, threw myself onto my bed and screamed into my pillow. Still lying face down I fumbled for the remote to my stereo. I found it and the silence segued cleanly into 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams'. (**A/N**: Love Green Day!) I took a half-hearted swipe at my pillow when I did rise. What was wrong with me? Since when would something like this have gotten under my skin so much? I moaned and began ticking reasons off on my fingers; or, at least, I tried to. I could find veritable information that would provided grounds for my thoughts, feelings and actions. Nothing to justify and I hated that 'loose end' sensation. There was something that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

A rapping at my door cut through the music that streamed from the speakers. I stretched and cleared me mind. Grannie was at the door. I blinked at her, sorry for my earlier lack of respect.

"Is there something that you would like to talk about Samantha?" she asked quietly. I leaned against the frame of the door dark, scowling, taller than her and obviously much stronger. I let her in. After all, she was the only family I had around at the moment.

"Did you have a fight with your boyfriend Samantha?" she asked bluntly. I twisted my face into a scowl further.

"He's not my boyfriend." I said heatedly.

"But I've never seen you without that boy in tow." Grandma said in her defense, putting her hand on my arm. "I'm sorry for assuming-

"Everyone assumes." I sneered. "And they're never right."

"Fine then, but I still think-

"IS THERE A WORLD WIDE CONSPIRACY TO MAKE US DATE?" I near screamed, years of frustration catching up with me.

"You will not use that tone of voice with me young lady! Now shut that infernal racket off and GO TO BED!" she yelled right back. "I don't know what's wrong with you, but you will not be rude and bite my head off!" With that she flounced off in a huff and I heard the scooter motor fire up. I leapt back onto my bed and screamed into my pillow, again.

Later that night, at approximately three in the morning, I was lying awake and staring at the darkness. The dark was writhing and spinning, you know, when your eyes can't see anything so they make these little waves and swirls that aren't really there. I noticed that they kept coming together and making faces. Tuck's, Danny's, Jazz's, Danny's, my own, Danny's, the Box Ghost (where the hell did that come from?) Danny's-

Wait a minute. I shifted uncomfortably. Danny had popped up four times, what was up with that? I pulled my blankets up to chin as his sweetly grinning face came into view. I thought for a second that I was delusional but was given affirmation when I could have sworn I heard Danny laughing me. I dove beneath the covers, keeping them tight over my head until my alarm clock signaled the beginning if another long day.

Which brings me back to skulking and locker slamming. I hadn't met Danny and Tucker at the bus stop, favoring walking in early, and I knew they must have been worried. There were kids filtering in from the buses bringing in with them the cold air that had clung to their clothes.

"SAM!"

I turned and saw Danny's hair and hands bobbing over the crowd as he tried to jump to see me. I set my face hard as stone, crammed my books in my bag, spun on my heel and headed for homeroom.

"Sam!"

Danny had finally caught up to me and had grabbed my arm, spinning me to face him. He was breathing hard and I could feel the warm glow of his skin though his coat was exuding cold. He looked flushed and worried; good, whatever. If he couldn't give a shit about how I felt last night, then I could care less what he was going through now. I pulled hard against his grasp.

"Sammie, what's wrong?" he asked, dropping my arm. I looked him over; I saw Paulina approaching from behind him, oblivious to the fact the Phantom was right there in front of her. I grinned at him in a cruel manner.

"Why not ask your little girlfriend?" I asked, motioning to the trendy and popular girl. He looked over his shoulder and closed his eyes as if in pain. When he looked back at me, it was with an expression of confusion.

"Are you _jealous_?" he queried, stressing his words.

"I am most certainly NOT!" I began walking off.

"Sammie." Again he used my baby name, and it struck a nerve of our past. I turned to face him again. Now his hands were shoved in his coat pockets and an understanding face in place. "You can tell me anything you know. That's how things have always worked."

I rubbed the heel of my hand against my temples, another headache coming on and me with no Advil. "Danny, it's sort of complicated." I said slowly.

"I am the king of complicated secrets." He reminded me, quirking an eyebrow.

"This is different." I asserted, my mood swinging from hostile to unsure. I bit my lip. "This is much different."

Dan threw up his arms and muttered, "Women! Why do you have to be so complicated?"

I gave a bit of laughter. "I thought you only had problems talking to pretty girls."

"I do." He said rubbing the back of his neck. I glared at him, reminding him of the barb in that comment. "But-

He tried to redeem himself, enough at the moment for truce. I put up my hand to silence him. "Chill man, I know, I know, I'm used to it."

Danny looked grateful; I spotted Tuck.

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I shall now jump to a lunch that had not been preceded by Dash trying to stuff either one of my friends into a locker. Today, though, I sat opposite Tucker and Danny, separating myself. It became clearer then that there was a line between us, though a truce had been called. I pushed the greens of my salad around, my thoughts apprehensive and terse. And then there was a squealing from the popular table. I looked up, hoping to catch a glance at the latest in loser chic so I could have my entertainment for the day. But what was actually plastered to Paulina's body made me drop my fork and my jaw.

A Danny _Phantom _costume almost, his face where a logo would be. Danny was blushing furiously as she flaunted her body, twisting sinuously to show off the skin-tight get up. Tucker cat-called. My hand found my fork and I chucked it at the back of Danny's head. He jumped up when it made contact, rubbing the sore spot. He was peering at me with curiosity.

Oh, god damn, I really was _jealous_.

I have to spill some news now. My best friend Kayla just died yesterday, in a riding accident. The horse reared and slipped on some ice, it fell back and crushed her. She was announced DOA by the ambulance. Kay died in her twin's arms and far too soon for the rest of us. I'm taking a break for a while to get back on track, so there might not be anything for a while as I reconcile with the world. Support/feedback/reviews are wanted/needed/appreciated…luv ya Kay and miss ya much already.


	5. Mood Swings

**AlwaysWrite: **Wow, I don't know what to say really, thanks so much. All of you guys have been so nice and supportive and ((blushes)) you, Ms. Write, were _very_ flattering. That was the best review I've ever received. And thank you for praying for Kayla; she needs all the prayers she can get!

**getfuzzyfan04: **Your friend was very lucky. I myself ride an A circuit and will continue to do so this summer. No fear, or else it takes all the fun out of the sport. But you can get hurt, and sometimes that's very scary. I've taken some spectacular falls myself, like off into electric fencing and trees, but never anything that bad…

**Kats02980416:** I'm trying to keep things like that, the constant swerve of feelings and thoughts, especially because you can't tell what Danny's thinking. Is he in the fog of normal hormone driven guys or does he see his best friend suffering under something she can't understand or control? I'm trying to make sure you guys can't tell. Hope this keeps up that standard! ;)

_**Je vous remercerie aussi: ((um, that's French for 'I thank you also'))**_

**dannyXsam-forever, Black Mistress, Umi, Adrena Lynn, ashley, animesk8ergirl, mechaghost, scubagurl, Random Reviewer, outlawarcher, cakreut12, Nobody's Princess **– I want to thank you all for offering your condolences, they were greatly appreciated. ((hands out cookies)) So have some cookies.

I had to get up and run to the bathroom right then. I slammed a stall door shut and pushed the lock roughly in place. I sat on the toilet and pulled my knees up to my chin and took my mental vitals. I thought I had lost my sanity as I rocked slowly back and forth on the toilet. I was jealous, how could I be jealous? This must have been the thing I couldn't put my finger on the other night. I sucked my breath in, trying to calm my fried nerves. I heard the footsteps of the monitor.

"Sweetie," she said; I cringed. "There is a very distraught young man out there asking you are in here. Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?"

I flung open the door and switched on the full Goth glare. "He is NOT my boyfriend!"

She shrugged and headed back to her post by the door. I checked myself in the mirror before walking out. Same black hair, a little longer than usual but still the same style, same clothes, same face, same eyes and same skin on the outside. But on the inside I felt so much different. Girls aren't jealous of another over a guy unless they're crushing or head over heels, everyone knows that. I waited at the door of the bathroom, out of sight, of course, until I heard the defeated sound of Danny's retreating shoes. With my back to the wall, I leant against it, sliding down as I did. Things were suddenly complicated in what had been such a simple relationship. I pulled my knees back up to my chin in agony. What complications arose and how I should clear the obstacles that I would face couldn't remain unclear for long. I traced the outlines of my eyes, smudging my make-up, in worry. The bell rang for sixth period.

I scooped up my bag and ran to Spanish. I saw Danny already seated and I slipped into a seat on the other side of the room. Downey ran her finger over the roll list.

"Manson…where's Manson?" she yelled.

"Here." I said, raising my hand. She looked at me disdainfully, but it was her policy to let the kids seat themselves, so she didn't require me to move. I looked over at my friends. Danny was playing with a pencil, his face clouded and unclear. Tucker had his PDA beneath his desk and was back at another round of Bejeweled. The pressure was building behind my temples again. I rubbed them, willing it to go away, far away, these headaches had to stop soon.

I flicked open a notebook dully as Downey began lecturing on about the proper way to use verbs. In truth, there was sea of acid boiling in my stomach that was making me miserable, as if it wasn't bad enough to begin with. There was a something in my chest that wasn't leaving. You know how you feel before you cry? Sort of like that, only without my throat blocking up and me choking back sobs. I began chewing my lip and lost track of time, space and thought. The only thing that brought me back was the bell, saved by the bell.

After algebra, out of pure habit, not forgetting that things were so tense between Danny and I, I waited at the door. And today, I had my own gloves. The only form of acknowledgement that Danny and I gave each other was a brief head nod. Then things turned towards the supernatural.

Some of Danny's cleverer foes had formed a way of baiting him. They would catch a ghost of lower power, use it to set off his senses and lure him into an ambush when he least expected it. We'd learned that ignoring any of these strange set offs could prove disastrous; the last one had resulted in Danny's own near exposure, something dangerous and deadly. If people knew that 'Inviso-Bill' was in fact the mutated child of the ones that they had entrusted the care of their city to, then a revolt of sorts was certainly going to happen. After all, if this was the child of the ghost hunters, then weren't they using him to get themselves money? And how was he mutated in the first place?

So life was fraught with stress for Danny, secrets with complications that none of us could relate to, friends who had their own trivial crises and parents with no clue. I really think now that he truly had no one. And I was supposed to be a caring friend who was always there, but I felt torn. I wanted to be as far away from him as possible and yet, at the same time, as close as I could get. Things had always been so special between us, so easy, so _simple_. We were not a couple, we weren't dating; we were friends. So why was I driving myself in circles reviewing our relationship, our lives?

Back to the fight. Danny dove behind a conveniently located dumpster and emerged as the Phantom. There was something irresistibly romantic about him in that form I suppose. Mysterious, lithe, in a skin-tight suit-

There I go again, sounding all crush like. This seriously has to stop soon.

Valerie had ensnared the Box Ghost (I'm starting to feel bad for him; he's almost always the bait) and was now blasting the shit out of Danny with her high-powered rifles and other various gadgets that she's somehow attained. I knew I couldn't trail Danny as he took another hit; it wasn't safe. Valerie might make the connection between us or hit me, something that couldn't happen. But poor Danny took another spectacular hit and I couldn't stand it anymore. I ran from my hiding spot and found Danny lying prostrate on the ground, eyes half open. It scared the shit out of me. Valerie was charging her rifle for another shot; I ignored Tucker's pleads for me to please come back and stepped between the gun and Danny.

"Move." The other girl commanded. "Move now."

"No." I said steadfastly.

"I don't want to shoot you!" I heard the humming of full power.

"Then move off yourself."

"If that's the way you want it…"

I was suddenly yanked out of the way and was soon soaring through the walls of an office building. The sound of the blast of Valerie's cannon shattered the glass of the windows as we collided with a wall, solid again. Danny was breathing hard and fast, as was I (that was a hell of an adrenaline rush), as at the same time, we slumped with relief for escaping alive. Then I realized where I was, how I had gotten there and who I was with.

"Sam," Danny began very slowly, "Is there any particular reason you did that?"

"I couldn't very well let you _die_." I reminded him, stressing die.

"This isn't anything I haven't already dealt with. Don't you trust me?"

"I'm scared for you." I cried; then I covered my mouth in surprise before continuing. "Someone has to be, Danny, I know that sure as hell won't be Tucker, he's to busy egging you on to see that one day you might just get hurt."

"One minute you're jealous, the next we're fine, then you're back to jealous and now you're concerned. Make up your mind!" Danny yelled at me. "What is it with you? I swear you're a whole other person every time I look at you! What happened? What the hell happened to Sam who was calm and in control?"

"Just because I've never had that many problems before doesn't I can't have them now! Mr. High and Mighty, guess what, I'm human too! I can feel!"

"Then what the hell is going on in that head, how do you feel?"

"I can't tell you."

"Then how can you expect me to understand?" Danny was near yelling at the top of his lungs.

"I don't know Danny."

"Then walk home _Samantha_, I don't need your help." His words were so cold and sharp. They shattered my world into a million billion tiny pieces and left me with a tear running down my cheek. But no one saw it of course; Danny had already flown off, back to battle, away from me. I wiped at it and shook my head, trying to stop the tears from falling. I had just had my first real fight with my best friend. He'd told me to go home, he'd called me Samantha and he'd told me he didn't need me.

He didn't need me.

I ran home, losing my composure with every step, fighting the pain that gathered in me.

Eh, not my best work, I'll admit it, but at least the plot thickens! That's good enough for me; tell me if it was good, or not as the case may be. ((turns up her stereo)) I got the most awesome mixes from a friend; they're so awesome, now I finally have some Good Charlotte to listen to! YAWP! I love 'The Anthem' because it is so good for bashing society, or at least I think so! ((laughs)) I have a DPS fic to go work on, YAWP on my fellow Poets!


	6. In the Mist

Divagurl277: Yes, poetry is awesome. But that joke is from the most excellent movie The Dead Poets Society, a movie set in a boarding school in 1959, following seven boys (Todd, Neil, Charlie, Knox, Pitts, Meeks and Cameron), their English teacher, Mr. Keating, and their fight to break free from the constraints of society through the Dead Poets. Lots of plot twists and wonderful characters...see if you can rent it, but you can't have Charlie...Charlie MINE! Well, anyway, the whole joke comes from a quote from Whitman, "I sound my barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world" I think it is, so the boys, all in good fun, yell YAWP! When they get excited or something big is happening. I was excited, so I yawped. Um, yawp means a really loud yell...I think I'm going to shut up now.

The Halfa Wannabe: Aw ((hugs)) thank you! Read your bio, glad to see guys on Fan Fiction!

Starfire Star: ((calls to the agents)) You idiots! You're supposed to collect the normal people for re-education! ((the agents drop the nice, mental person (don't be offended, I'm crazy as they come) and back off)) Now, go find someone normal to catch! Thank you darling for that review!

AlwaysWrite: I was trying for that. Thanks for noticing. I wanted them to fight and separate, find something driving them apart. Torture, angst, MISERY! Hehehe...I'm feeling a little evil, can't ya tell? ;)

Je vous remercerie aussi:

scubagurl, buffyfreak, Ocean-Poweress, annonymous, Black Mistress, cakreut12, Amy, insane/brilliant person

I was at home, drowning my misery in a good old fashioned dose of chocolate and rock music. Actually, the rock was to drown out the fact I was crying to my grandmother. The last thing I needed was her breathing down my neck, asking what had happened to me. I flipped dully through the tracks on my mixed CDs, settling for the truth a Good Charlotte song. I was young and I was hopeless, I was lost and I know this, I'm going nowhere fast, that's what they said! I was troubled, I was bother- eh, well, I wasn't angry at my father, but you get the point. The music switched to 'Breaking the Habit', (A/N: Hi Rachel! Hope your reading this!) and I drifted into sweet bliss of sleep.

But there was school the next morning. I rolled out of bed (literally) a mess of running make up and crumpled clothes. I knuckled my eyes and looked at the glittery black mess that was resting on my fingers. I was staring at my closet when there was a light tap at my door. It was Grandma.

"You don't have to go to school today sweetie." she said warmly. I blinked at her in total disbelief. "Do you think that I really didn't hear you last night."

Still, I just blinked. Then she closed the door; I sank back into my bed and pulled the covers tight over myself. I felt too cold and empty for something that should have been small, a minor spat between friends, am I right? But still, I nuzzled my pillow and thought deeply, I felt cut. There was an endless feeling in me, deep and dark as Hell, that was seeping through to every part of my body. I pulled my pillow tight and felt ears welling up. I didn't want to cry anymore, I didn't cry, Sam Manson did not cry! But she was, and she was also screwed up.

The fact that Danny neither needed nor wanted me was driving me to a breaking point. I grabbed a handful of sheets and twisted them. How dare he? Hadn't I saved his sorry ass on many an occasion? Hadn't I made up for the flubs of both Tucker and Danny? Hadn't I been the one to distract, take hits, think fast and always be there for him! What the hell was wrong with him! I pressed my fingers into my temples, I was ready to pop with complicated emotion and stress. Now, to top things off on what should have been a great Friday I was home for the day, wallowing in my misery, missing work at school that would have to be made up later and writhing in mental pain.

I got up and went back to my closet. I pale smile lit my face, it was time to sneak out. I rifled through some shirts, it was time to sneak out in Goth style.

The winter dawn was icy and frigid as I swung out my window and into the early morning to beat Danny to the corner. I knew he would be taking the bus if he didn't have to stop at my house to get me. I thudded into the snow, cursing for not thinking ahead and wearing taller boots and a pair of long johns, then slipped silently off. I ran along the pavement of the sidewalk, skidding on ice. Lord, I was ditz that morning. Danny was almost to the bus stop as I waded in the shadows. I had chosen my black cloak, black pants, black boots and a black shirt with flowing sleeves. It was a style that I normally stayed away from, but today, I wanted the brooding, the dark, the dramatic. I was waiting when Danny laughed.

"If you think you can sneak up on me Sam, then your losing your common sense." his words were cold and biting to me. His smug smile was taking a tic beat in my eye. Damn ghost boy with his stupid powers and-

The ranting is really going to have to stop.

I stepped forth and glowered at him. He shook his head and looked at the sky. "It's a nice day for fly, don't you think?" he asked nonchalantly, "Too bad you're grounded. But some people do stupid things that makes it very hard to have them around. After all, how would I look if you were hurt in the middle of my battle? Hm?"

"And what if you got hurt?" I asked. "How do you think Tucker and I would feel?"

"I'm not going to get hurt." he said confidently. I rolled my eyes, this was an issue that he'd never back down on. It was something that Jazz had told me...something about the ego of a teenager, that they feel untouchable. I think Danny had finally emerged from being unsure and, weirded out by his strange and accidental powers to being cocky. It was a change that I wasn't appreciating. He scanned my attire.

"Sam, Sam, would something a little less drab would be better." he reached over and fingered my cape. I slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me." I said, squirming. Danny's face clouded.

"Why are you like this?"

"Like what?"

"So...un-Sam-like."

"If, no, when, you're in need of understanding without questions, or being saved, Tucker and I do it, well, mainly me, but who's keeping track of that? Ok, well, maybe I am, but, that's not the point!" I was now pacing as Danny leant against a lamp post. If this was an argument, it was a strange one. Here I was being, as Danny was right, so unlike myself. I was yelling and storming, demanding that he just get it. Whatever it was. But that was just it. I was being confusing. I didn't want to cede from my spot, Danny had been so rude yesterday. And I was stubborn. The bus was rumbling into view. I turned away, I was too out of my mind for this, and started back down the street. I heard Danny pick up a run, but in my direction! In a few seconds he'd grabbed me around my waist, gone intangible and leapt into the air. We stopped at a rooftop and Danny set me down. He switched back and sat, leaning back onto a air vent.

"You have all day." he said calmly, "Now, tell me what's wrong."

Sorry about the short chapter, but my attention span was like this big ((makes the little finger thingie)) this week. I dunno what's up with that, but it's driving me nuts. So when I sat down to do some writing, the inspiration wasn't coming. This was all I could get out before I just decided to stop writing before I wrote something really confusing and pointless. The cliffhanger was good right there, so I stopped and went to think some more stuff out, expect an update on Sunday! Laters - Dru


	7. Not a Date Right?

**PhantomAL: **Eh, well, I dunno if it matters so much if you got calling me a guy or a girl right. According to friends, winning a burping contest isn't exactly very feminine, especially a contest against a bunch of Boy Scouts…hey, I was BORED!

**fanwiththeshortattentionspan: **Wow what a name! Love it, and of course we're eventually going to find out what's up with Sam.

**Plooshes: **No way am I making things that easy, what would be the point if I did?

**The Halfa Wannabe: **Went and read your fic, t'was awesome! I suggest the rest of you go read 'Emergency of the Heart' and give Mr. Halfa Wannabe some more reviews!

**cakreut12: **Yes, Danny can be a bad boy when he wants…;)

_**Je vous remercerie aussi:**_

**scubagurl, Starfire Star**

We sat in total and utter silence for maybe about ten minutes. Hey, he _had_ given me _all_ day, meaning I didn't just get five seconds before he skipped off to class where there was Paulina and plenty of other girls. The wind was cutting through my cape as I bit my lip to keep from shivering; I think the end result was that I was vibrating slightly. The cars rumbled on below as we sat up there, the world continuing as it always had, oblivious to a boy and girl on a roof when they should have been in school.

I focused on Danny's expression; that was hard. He kept catching me staring by looking around at me. I would jump in surprise and then stare out on the horizon before going right back to his face, which, by the way, was a complete enigma, a complex maze of an expression that neither revealed anything nor appeared to be hiding anything. My spirits sank. He could just think it was _that_ time of the month, or that I'd been to another poetry slam and had left more eccentric than I was when I'd walked in. There was, within the moment, astounding complexity of a changing relationship (whether that was for better of for worse was yet to be seen) and the amazing simplicity of best friends (where it mattered not that I was a girl and he was a boy, only that we'd known each other long enough to nearly set our clocks by the other).

I was pressing my fingers against my temples, which had been pounding so much lately I was wondering if I had a chronic issue, when Danny decidedly broke the silence.

"Well…" he let the word drift. Then, starting off a topic we could very well discuss, he ploughed bluntly into the next sentence, "So, did you hear about Tuck's latest and greatest conquest?"

"No." I said, thankful for a chance to escape my writhing and wriggling thoughts; I let a small chuckle to encourage him. Dan launched into a long story involving a long series of rejection letters from a dating web page where Tucker had signed up in hopes of finding a girl that wouldn't immediately turn him down on first sight, the rejections themselves (all one hundred and three of them) and consoling a sobbing Tucker over the phone until one in the morning. By the end both of us were laughing brightly, the mood lifted. Then Danny just had to ask.

"So what's up Sammie?" he asked, boyishly adorable grin affixed to his face; I shall admit to this rumor now before it festers most unpleasantly into facts. Yes, I, Samantha Manson hereby admit to thinking Daniel Fenton's smile was boyishly adorable. Deal with it people. (**A/N:** ((cough))Sound familiar PhantomAL?((cough)))

So, now, I really had to answer. And not just the 'I don't know' that frustrated him so much. I needed a substantial answer, which today really mean substantial lie delivered with a dead straight face. I summoned up all of my creativity. Think, Sam, think! Hm…struggling with school? No. Tired of being an assistant ghost hunter? Oh that would go over well with him, after all, he got no choice. Trouble at home? But no one was ever home at my house, I almost lived with the Foleys and Fentons; in truth, there was extra underwear, a shirt, a bra and pants of mine stowed in Danny's room. In the closet, of course, where no one in their right mind would go to begin with. To open the thing most of the time was suicide by avalanche. But I'm getting off the point.

Trouble at school? Now I was being redundant as precious seconds slid by. Then I just blurted out what seemed so easy in the first place, god, I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier!

"I'm just stressed out between no parentals around, school and keeping up with you two. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it!" I lied right through my teeth in a cheery voice as I used my blended lies. And I felt guilty too. But I couldn't admit to anyone then that I was jealous over the attention he paid to other girls over me. It wouldn't make sense. Even though everyone made the couple cracks and tried to push us together, we'd always pushed the other away, in that sense at least; after all, we'd never spent more than a week apart from each other. So what would happen _if_ we dated? Not that I was saying that we _were_ dating or anything. No, not at all, right?

Danny leaned further over the air vent, stretching so that his back curled around it, making those little noises you do when you're enjoying a simple pleasure, like stretching out your back. My eyes flicked over the space on the opened jacket that exposed only a touch of shirt, said shirt having ridden up revealing a muscled belly that most wouldn't expected to see on a fourteen-almost-fifteen-year-old. I burned red to the tips of my ears when I realized what I was doing, cold no longer. Dan would never know what was up; he just smiled easily at me when he was sitting normally again. Which only made me flame further. Lord, he was cute.

I just said that out loud, didn't I?

Good.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

After the rooftop Danny had flown us down to a park for a walk to waste some time until the school let out, in which case we could catch Tuck and some lunch. Neither of us had any money on us. I hadn't been planning on needing it, and Danny was going to rely on some cash that Tucker owed him for food. There was a wild snowball fight, made all the more interesting by the fact that my opponent really _did_ have the power to go invisible on me. Any passerby would have thought that I was playing with myself, throwing snow at empty air in a frenzy.

Following the fight, which ended behind a restaurant because we were both so tortured by the smell of the food. I wouldn't let Danny steal anything to eat, even though he wanted to badly. If we went to my house and he snuck in intangible, how would I explain the section of the fridge I would have the chef clear out on his account. Danny would want something with meat. Me ordering such an item would create quite a stir in the household. Anyway, following the fight, it really was a walk through the streets on Amity. A nice one to, where we meandered all over, remembering things, silly little things; like I met Danny right there, under that pine tree, after my dad's dog had chased him up a tree when he was a mere scrawny six and I was a rebellious almost six. It was that day that I learned that he was three months older than me.

I would have put my hand in his if I hadn't kept reminded myself that this wasn't a date, wasn't a date, wasn't a date. We were in the vicinity of the school in time to hear the final bell ring at one fifty on the dot. I knew that Tucker has synchronized his PDA with the school clocks, meaning he was always out first. No matter how much the cramming machines had done for his intellect, he still hated school.

Dan dove into the crowd and retrieved our nerdy little friend, who was still looking shell shocked from the night before when they returned to me. When we relayed the tale of our day, it seemed Tucker was fight back laughter of all things. I do believe I heard him mutter, "Date." under his breath. We followed the crowds to Nasty Burger, talking and acting like it was normal day. I soared; things were mended.

But they weren't

We where standing in line for munchies when Danny went to attend the court of Queen Paulina; just walked off, he left like that! Went to be another foolish, drooling, love sick suitor who had a snow ball's chance in hell for a date. I clenched my fists and ground my teeth, sending a death glare to the pretty girl, who, in tune with the vapid beauty she was, didn't notice. Tucker did, however, as he took a step back and told me later that I'd been growling.

Ok! There you are! Reviews please and thank you! Now I'm going to finish listening to my **Phantom of the Opera** sound track. Danny ain't the only _Phantom_ that rocks my socks. Plus Erik has an excellent singing voice if questionable looks, he'd look a little better without the mask, don't you think? ((laughs)) ok, reviews!

Laters – Dru


	8. Into the Mind of a Phantom

**Katie Mae: **The whole point is a little d-e-n-i-a-l

**SuperNatural92: **Wow…what a review! That was really long, I think you win as far as length…

**AlwaysWrite: **Ah, guess whose an idiot for the ages in this chapter?

**PhantomAL: **Thank you for editing, as short of a task as that turned out to be in the end.

**Kats02980416: **Thank you for all of those reviews…reviewing the chapters as you read, wowee!

**Amy: **AH! I **_love_** Good Charlotte…but know very little about the band in general, other than the fact that I'm in love with their voices ((cough))strange((cough)) and I just got the Chronicles ((holds up the CD)) I think the rest of my knowledge is that Joel and Benji Madden are the twin brothers right? (I think they're my icon, I know it's a GC one, and ifso, lord they're adorable in a punker way ;-P)Care to educate me?

_**Je vous remercerie aussi: **_

**scubagurl, Starfire Star, The Halfa Wannabe, dannyXsam-forever, LMDG1UVR4EVA**

I pressed against the crowd the surrounded the Amity Goddess; I knew I could very well _go through _them in _every_ sense of the word, but that would expose me, something that was a constant risk. She was lowered her eyes flirtatiously in a way that drove all of us mad, wanting to prove that one of us stood above the rest to claim the prize. I wished I could shove away the other suitors; part them like the Red Sea.

I was trying to wiggle my way past Gerry when there was an almighty tug on my ear that yanked me rudely back. The offender was none other than my best friend; well, one of them. Sam was in portentous mood, her face hard and her eyes positively smoldering with hate and jealousy (though she would never admit it). She pulled me away (still by my ear, ouch) as I struggled, not wanting to make a scene in public. But it turned out this was just the gimmick I needed to get the attention of Paulina. She might not want half the crowd even with twenty feet of her, but another girl taking away an adorer? She didn't think so.

"Where you going stud?" she crooned at me. I finally got loose of Sam and was headed back, but Sam caught the waist of my jeans. Her hands threaded through to a deadly weapon that could be operated by means of boxers. I stood straight up as she grasped the elastic.

"You wouldn't." I hissed at her over my shoulder.

"I _would_." She answered in a pissed off tone. "I can't stand that girl, honestly, what _do_ you see in her?"

When I didn't respond she got off from the tabletop where she'd been displaying her body. Leaning casually against it, a few errant strands of hair falling into her face, which she subconsciously flicked away, she called to me. "You weren't in school day Danny."

"And for a very good reason!" Sam screamed over my shoulder, over reacting as she had been these past few days.

"They were on a date!" Tucker yelled from the food line. Sam's hands tightened on my underwear; I clenched my teeth as my boxers rode up slightly.

"Danny…" Paulina pouted and parted the boys herself; they scattered all over, watching, waiting for something to happen. She sauntered over to pose in front of me, fully aware of the Goth behind me. She reached a hand out and traced the side of my face lightly; I thought I was going to melt into a puddle right there and then. With intimacy I knew was mock, but it still drove me mad with desire, she pressed her body to mine (much to the displeasure of the others) and would have kissed me…if Sam hadn't knocked her away…giving me the wedgie from hell in the process, but I was more worried about what was brewing between the two girls. Who were fighting over, of all people, _me_.

Sam had set Paulina's shirt off kilter and the other girl was shrieking with rage; how dare Sam! Paulina walked up to Sam, point blank, hauled off and slapped her full across the face. Sam, of course, has never been one to take things sitting down. She paused for a second before decking the less driven girl. But what was driving Sammie, well, I don't know, but it must have been powerful 'cause she proceeded to try to beat the crap out of the A-List chick. And I say try for a good reason; people _tried_ to pull her off as she _tried_ to beat up the object of their affection. Sam was writing in the clutches of boys who she wouldn't even speak to, let alone let touch her as the pretty girl got slowly to her feet, amazed to find that her lip was bleeding. And she would have a shiner later, I thought as I examined her face. Poor girl. I felt sorrier for her than Sam.

"You _crazy bitch_." Paulina yelled at Sam, her make up mussed and her hair a rat's nest with floor dirt now in it. Sam bared her teeth and fought against her captors more, thrashing about. I looked back at Paulina, who grinned seductively and motioned for me to come forward with her hand; I obeyed. Paulina sneered at Sam then slid her arms up and around my neck; I felt like my stomach had imploded. She kissed me softly on the lips, but it was devoid of any real feeling but revenge, but I still found it sweet. I heard a body crash to the floor, Sam; I broke the embrace.

Sammie was sitting defeated on the dirty floor, trying to hide the tears welling in her eyes. She sniffed loudly and got up, wiping her arm across her face, smearing her make up into wild black and purple streaks. She threw a pained look at me (she looked like a kicked dog) and bolted out the door. I was then faced with a decision.

I could go after her and loose this rare moment of popularity; or I could stay here and save my face in the eyes of my shallow peers. I could go comfort my best friend, but then her behavior had been nothing of short of unacceptable. Tuck was running through the doors after Sam to a vicious chorus of laughter. She had him; she didn't need me. I stayed.

But as luck would have it I was merely the flavor of the minute and when there were some many other flavors to sample, why just me? Paulina's eyes were caught by others who were better looking, better built, in general, just plain better than some loser with messy black hair. I left as soon as I got tired of watching her; time to go see Sammie, that is, if she would let me in. And you know what? I wasn't entirely surprised she wouldn't.

As soon as I rang the bell, her head poked out of her window, accompanied my a rousing line of _'I want the truth from you, even if it hurts me, I don't care!'_ that made me squirm. She narrowed her eyes.

"What do you want?" she demanded imperiously.

"Sammie, look, I'm sorry, but you know, you don't get luck like that everyday." I said uneasily, knowing I was treading dangerous ground.

"That was LUCK!" Sam roared. "You come back and talk to me when there is some sense in that head of yours!"

"I'm fine thank you!" I shouted back to her. A woman with her dog had paused and was watching from across the street. Sam glared at her.

"You got a problem!" she said, and when the woman didn't move on right away, little Sam gave her the finger. I felt the heat creep up my jacket collar; Sam, oh, what is wrong with you today?

Ok I'm off to enjoy my new Chronicles CD, YAY Good Charlotte! And to finish chapter 16 of my DPS fic! Night – Dru


	9. Not Just a Ghost of a Fight

**Amy & Dark Child Samara: **((grins)) I'm so happy to see fellow GC junkies! Most of the kids at my school just bash them…and me considering the fact that I've drawn the logo onto my backpack…my pants. And I agree with ya both, _The Truth _is the most awesome song, it was the first one I listened to on the Chronicles because I read the lyrics first, then I listen to the music. And, Amy, my brother has a question for you, how do you tell the twins apart? So, always happy to see fellow fans and wishing I could find one around here!

**Kats02980416: **You…keep…reading…my…mind! How do you do that!

**Seeiko: **Um…thanks, I think…

**PhantomAL: **Sorry I didn't send this for editing yesterday, I got sidetracked and patientce my little one, patientce, I'll get to the romance…eventually…

_**Je vous remercerie aussi:**_

**Starfire Star, Katie Mae, DragonGirl, getfuzzyfan04, fanwithashortattentionspan, outlawarcher, Sqweakie the Wonder Mouse**

Sam's grandmother let me in. I could hear her raging about it directly above my head. Mrs. Manson pressed the key to her lock into my hands; I blinked at her stupidly. She pointed to the stairs and ordered, "Apologize."

As I made my way up the stairs, the music that I'd heard had grown louder and had a strange pace to it. Sammie's loud cry of "MURDER!" in time to the music before whacking the stereo and turning it off made me cringe. She had every reason to be mad at me, now that I thought about it, but at that moment I was totally irked by her behavior lately. Just as I stuck the key in the lock, the door opened in its own. Sam was standing there, in the doorframe, glowering impressively. Her makeup was smeared and ringed around her eyes from crying, her eyes were red and her face was blotchy. I suddenly became very aware of the studded cuff on her wrist; it looked very dangerous. She sniffed.

"What do you want?" she shot at me.

"Sam-

"Apologizing isn't going to work." Sam said coldly. Her bangs had fallen over her eyes, which had already had been darkened with running eyeliner, obscuring the top half of her face. I knew I shouldn't have done this but it had normally smoothed things before. I started a tickle fight. Years if driving Jazz insane come in handy for a few things you know.

But Sam was _not_ in the mood for that. She braced her hands on my shoulders and tried to hold me off, but all of that work out time (also known as kicking ghost butt) gave me more initial strength than her. A lot more, I decked her by accident. And her head collided loudly with the hardwood of her floor. I could see tear welling up in her eyes; she was going to cry again. I was ashamed.

I reached out and pulled her up to her feet, but she collapsed back onto the floor clutching her head.

"Just go." She whispered hoarsely. "Please, just go."

"Sammie-

"Get the hell out of here Danny!"

"Tell me!" I fumed, "What is up with you? Tucker and I barely know you anymore. Are you sick? Is there something wrong here? Is school giving you trouble? What Sam? This fighting is getting out of hand!"

"This isn't my fault!" she screamed, "I'm not the one off cavorting with some air head preppy!"

"I never said I was!"

"You wanted her badly enough!"

"You've known that for ages, Sam, don't act like this is new information!"

"If leaving with Tucker and me was life and staying was death, you picked death." Sam told me. Her words sunk in slowly and my anger wanted to flare up against it, but she looked so pitiful, I couldn't. "You wanted to die Danny. You don't care for anything but yourself, you're so selfish."

Then I could.

"ME! SELFISH! Are you crazy? Me? Selfish? HAVE YOU NOT NOTICED WHAT I HAVE TO DO! I can't- this is- you're- what the hell is wrong with you?"

"With me!" She grabbed a pillow and chucked it at me; it went through me. She reached under her bed and began throwing the contents at me. Shirts, pants, skirts…panties. I blushed wildly as she threw those at me. Finally, she was out of ammo and just slumped against her bed. "I don't care anymore; just get lost."

And why not? Sever this wreck of a friendship and scrap it instead of trying to recover it. I pushed my hands through the wall a little. I heard Sammie creep into her bed, the covers rustling. I looked back and she looked ill. Like she was going to be sick; she looked broken. She slid the comforter of her head like a hood and I jumped out.

The cold air was a welcome friend. It was so icy that it burned over my face, cleaning me off, gnawing that the guilt that was growing in my stomach. Life and death was a very strange way of putting things. I wanted to go get lost in a fight, try to beat something else over myself as I was doing now. I was suddenly calling up every little aspect of our relation, reviewing all the year. I passed over the school, no one was there; I dropped to the ground and switched back in a pine tree. I huddled up my knees and began to chew on a thumbnail, a nasty habit, I know.

I felt more stressed, something I definitely didn't need. My stomach jumped with a wave of acid, then it settled into a steady burn. I rubbed my eyes with my knuckles as they began to sting; they were wet. I swiped at them with the sleeve of my jacket; boys don't cry. They don't. I stayed in the tree for maybe an hour, sitting quietly and in shameful regret. Selfish, I wasn't selfish! I had more that average trials and obstacles than anyone my age! Look at what I did for the, look at how they feared me and wanted my death. And look how I saved them and protected them! Look how I kept them safe!

I swung out of the tree and headed some on foot, the sound of my sneakers on the pavement of the sidewalk. I sighed and exhaled the blue wisps of paranormal presence. I looked around, there was no one. I changed and went to find my opponent. Hello misplaced aggression, I think we've met before. I dove wildly, collecting speed and letting the wind whip my feelings away in a cruel onslaught of freezing knives. I dodn'y care either, Sam, just to let you know, I don't care.

And maybe that was reason I was reckless.

And maybe that was the reason I made that mistake.

And maybe, just maybe, that's why I got so very badly hurt.

OO! Cliffhanger! Next chapter Sam's back narrating. I'm off to go finish getting ready to scare the family at Easter dinner. I hate that thing, it's pure, unadulterated, family based evil. I scare them though ;) they think I'm a little weird. Ok, fine, a lot weird.  
ok, now I have an armada of Darren Shan books to go read! laters - Dru


	10. Redemption

_**This is a special author's note for all of you who read. This chapter is based, in total, on something very painful that has happened in my life. I've lost track of how many of you have offered your greatly appreciated condolences about the loss of Kayla and I want you to know how much I love you all. You can laugh all you want, but I wish you only the best and hope you don't have to go through anything like that any time soon.**_

_**Anyway, this chapter is based on what it's like, what it's like to find out that someone very dear to you is on Death's door. Of course, we all react differently, I'm going to have Sam react the way I did, for those of you who will wonder. It may seem very slow to you, but wait. I'm telling you now, Danny's not going to die, so don't kill me. **_

_**I would also like to take this moment to thank Alex (aka PhantomAL) for being a great editor and a fellow hopeless romantic, Rocky for being a good friend and understanding, my classmates for providing colorful relationships for me to observe, Punker-Boy for being such an adorable crush from which to draw inspiration from, my stereo and my albums for singing me through this. :) **_

**Unlikely-To-Bear-It: **Guess who's playing a concert half an hour away from my house in May? Hm? Three guesses, the first two don't count...;)

_**Je vous remercerie aussi:**_

**Corey, LMD1UVR4EVA, Katie Mae, Starfire Star, MerkFatallious, scubagurl, Pirotessa, DragonGirl, Arezal, shepyt, PhantomAL, cakreut12, outlawarcher**

I'd begun to slide out of reality to a dream world when the phone rang ever so innocently on my nightstand. Reached out and grabbed it, screaming WHAT ever so classily into the receiver. There came a thick, dead sounding voice over the line.

"Is this the Manson residence?"

"Yeah, yeah, what is it?"

"Whom is speaking please?"

"Sam Manson, what do you want?"

"Sam, oh thank god, Sam! This is Mrs. Fenton, something's happened…"

Her voice trailed off and I sat up, pressing my ear to the phone. "Mrs. Fenton?"

"Sam, honey, do you know what Danny was doing this afternoon?"

"No, Mrs. Fenton, I don't know…is something wrong?"

There was a choked sob over the line. "Danny's in the hospital…they don't know if…if…if he's going to survive…the night."

The cool plastic of the receiver slid through my hands and clattered dully on the hardwood of my floors. I stared at it on the floor, feeling numb and like I was sitting in water. I pushed through the water and picked up the phone. Jazz's calm voice came over the line.

"Sam, we want you here. We need to talk." She said smoothly. "Tucker's on his way; the Foleys will pick you up."

I nodded to no one.

"I'll see you shortly then." Said Jazz, now there was barely the smallest hint of a quaver in her voice as she disconnected. I set the phone and had to run to the bathroom; I threw up violently. I sat back, chest heaving and stomach churning rapidly. I clutched my middle and moaned. _Might not survive the night_. And the last thing we'd done was fight, we'd fought for crissakes! I was aware of the slow burn of tears running down my face, I was hoping, praying, that this was all a cruel joke, that it wasn't true. I'd seen Dan pretty roughed up after some of his fights, but he'd always bounced back. Who'd given him so much trouble?

I wasn't given much time to think; the Foleys were here.

o-o-o

The first thing I did when I stumbled into the clean white sanity of the hospital was collapse with Jazz; who's normal, sane and strong attitude was blown. I was sobbing hard, my makeup running further all over my face as I knew hers was. After that sorrow embrace with Danny's sister, I had to go hug Tuck; hard too. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton were pale with shock and limp instead of their usual ready to fight the ghosts position.

Danny had apparently been roughed up bad, so bad he was unconscious and experiencing head trauma, one that the doctors couldn't figure out. They weren't certain if Dan would wake up or just stay asleep. There was a REM cycle occurring; Danny was dreaming and moving with his dreams, but they couldn't be sure. Not to mention that several ribs were shattered, an arm broken and a leg dislocated. The people that found him said he'd been just lying there, moaning lightly before going totally silent.

I watched from the window of the ICU in fear. Oh god, he looked awful. Both of his eyes were blackened, his lips were cut oozing blood which a nurse was wiping away as it became enough to do so, his face looked like someone, or _something_, had tried to beat it to a pulp. The fingers exposed where an IV had been driven into his veins twitched in a flickering motion. All of the bed pans in the room jumped. I bit back a gasp of surprise. Unconscious poor Danny had no control over his powers. Another little movement and a few bed pans clattered to the floor.

Jazz appeared at my side, her cool blue eyes staring me down. I shifted uncomfortable; she looked too calm. She tossed her gaze back to her brother.

"You know," she said softly, "I was the first one here. Something happened."

"What?" I asked around the thumbnail I was chewing apprehensively.

"Danny opened his eyes." She glanced back at me. "They were green, Sam, not blue, _green_."

"S-s-s-o?" I asked with a stutter. Oh boy, Danny was really out of check; the lights of the ICU blinked. The frazzled nurse stood straight up from her task of replacing the fallen bed pans. Jazz nodded before she continued.

"And then, what do you know, a stethoscope nearby starts to levitate when he moves."

"Is that so?"

"Yes." Jazz said, her voice dripping with mystery. "I have theory, but I think I'll find out if I'm right when the time comes." A slight grin tugged morbidly at her lips. "I have a feeling you already know."

I bobbed my head. She sighed and traced the edge of the window panel with her fingers.

"There are so many things that I don't understand about life, but I believe that loyalty and faith are two of the biggest things we have. I won't press you for details and I know you won't betray my brother. I thank you Sam, I have a feeling that we're going to learn a lot about each other in these next few days." She turned to face me. "You and Tuck are all Danny has for friends; you're part of the family."

I nodded numbly, wanting to cry again. Jazz gestured to me again and we hugged again, a fierce longing surrounded me. It was hope, despair and a tear at my heart at what might never happen for my friend.

It was only late at night when he was declared stable. His condition wasn't changing and his movements were growing stronger, more sure and precise. And those little unexplainable things were getting to be more and more. I was relieved to know that Danny's ghost half had hidden itself well, not one of the various medical tests that had been run had caught anything out of the norm, besides the fact that Dan was conked out beyond reach. I fell asleep in the lobby of the hospital, only to awake in a strange cot. I found that they placed visitors there when they wouldn't leave because they'd fallen asleep.

As soon as I woke up I questioned why to even get up. The second I opened my eyes the events of the previous day hit me like a bus. I began to drown in my sorrow, wishing for it to stop, he hadn't died yet. No, Danny wouldn't die, he wasn't allowed to die. I could never live with our last conversation being a fight. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, this all seemed so much like yesterday morning. My knuckles cam away covered with a mixture of dried tears and black eyeliner. I stretched and closed my eyes, swallowing hard.

We were allowed to visit Danny. Jazz insisted we all get a private time to talk to him. It was strange, considering his condition, but the Mr. and Mrs. Fenton agreed to it, seeing as maybe this would be the last time we would have a chance to do something like this. I went last, murmuring soft words of apology and regret.

Time flew by in a whirl of nameless days and hours. I think it was Monday, I didn't know and neither did I care. I was taking another day off from school, not caring, just being scared. My parents had rushed home, but it was like they weren't there. I'd never really been too close with them once I'd turned ten, I sort of started to go my own way in life. It seemed that all I could find were my problems, there was no happiness right now for me. I vowed that once Danny woke up and stopped frightening us so much that I'd take him out for the best day of his young life.

Tucker and I were holding down the bedside vigil while the Fentons ran home for a few things. Probably ghost hunting equipment, the disturbances in the hospital had gotten worse. Tuck went to get something eat, I remember this so clearly, and left me to my own devices with Dan.

I took his hand and stroked it; fully aware that the slow burn of tears were gathering in my eyes. I traced the smooth outlines of his arm; his parents were so surprised when the doctors had asked if he'd played any sports, when they answered no there was a mass confusion among them. They said Danny had been too fit to have been the non-athletic type. The muscles, though at rest, resisted the press of my cold fingers, moving subtly in movements that only Danny knew. My hands fluttered lightly around a shoulder, sweeping onto his face.

I tapped his nose tentatively; his steady breath heating my frozen hands as it seeped from his mouth. He was mumbling as I ran a hand down his neck; the vibrations giving it away. I stood and placed an ear near his lips; he was still incoherent, but no matter, I was glad to stand like this. Though he smelled of hospital soap and sheets, beside the plastic smell of the medical machines that monitored him, I could still smell _Danny_. You know, everyone has this different smell, it's not bad; it's just them. I did something spontaneous; I nestled my head in the curve of his neck to hear the blood rushing by, the pulse that proved that he wasn't giving in any time soon.

I grabbed his hand again and sighed. Things were so out of whack. I leant further against the bed and pushed the cold skin of my face to the warm surface of Danny's neck. Then, then, well, then his finger moved. I heard a jagged gasp and Dan tried to push himself up to sit. I stood in a flash. He groaned and resigned to lying miserably against the pillows.

"Did I win?"

All I could do was squeak.

There we are! What do you think? I've tried to kick in Sam's romantic side, but see, she doesn't realize it 'cause she's just thankful he's alive. I wanted to explain that before I get more people telling me I need to get this show going…lol.

On a light note, and because I want to, I'm taking a page out of PhantomAL's book and creating a soundtrack for this whole show…mainly because I can have a friend burn it for me and then I can say what it's for. So, tell me what you think of this line up, which can be added and amended to if someone has a good suggestion. Oh, and when I finish assembling all of the music, well, it won't exactly be in this order. These are just sort of the songs that inspired certain parts.

Riot Girl – Good Charlotte (just because the first thing you see in this story is one POed Sam)

Broadway – The Goo Goo Dolls

Members Only – Sheryl Crow

Damn – Matchbox 20

Say Anything – Good Charlotte

The Truth – Good Charlotte

My Favorite Mistake – Sheryl Crow

Truth Is a Whisper – The Goo Goo Dolls

Don't Let Go – Bryan Adams and Sarah McLachlan

3 AM – Matchbox 20

Mist and Shadow – Billy Boyd (it's an LotR song, yeah, but it's so sad)

Breaking the Habit – Linkin' Park

I'm Just a Kid – Simple Plan

Push – Matchbox 20

Jaded – Areosmith

Sympathy – The Goo Goo Dolls

That's it for the moment. Care to add anything? Wow, this is one long note! Well, I hope you've enjoyed! Laters – Dru

ps. sorry this took so long, just ask AL, my computer was having some serious issues.


	11. Say Anything, Say Anything

**Divine-Red-Crayon:** AW! Sweet! My mom's horse just had her foal so I'm all excited too!

**Ransomed Heart: **YES! Another Matchbox to the 20 fan! ((laughs)) very rare to find them you know. ((sighs)) I just love Robby - to bad he's about twelve or so years older than me and married - but I don't like that new song 'Lonely No More' too much. Rob sounds goody es, he always does, but it's a little too pop-y for my taste. Wishing Rob would stop this stupid solo attempted and get back with the rest of the band...what do you think?

**Unlikely-to-bear-it: **If it makes you fell any better, I don't think I'm going, but a friend of mine got a back stage pass, so I'm just simmering in jealousy over here...and running a betting pool on how fast it'll take her to get a restraining order against Billy Martin. Now, me on the other hand, I'm the one with the twin fetish...

**Kats02980416: **Again, you've been reading my mind. So now life had given Danny a bit of a slap in the face, he's gonna start to have a wake up call.

**Je vous remercerie aussi:**

**PhantomAL, Flaming Archer, Katie Mae, dannyXsam-forever, Eternity's Shadow, Arezal, cakreut12, Divagurl277 **(thank you all of you for getting me past 100 reviews!)

I was in shock, but a good shock, as I ran through the halls of the hospital to find a nurse, or someone, anyone! My loose sweat pants swished and kept sliding down my butt as I skidded about. What the - this place had been absolutely crawling with personel a few minutes ago! I came to terrific sliding stop at a nurses' station after tripping on the hems of my pants. I barely heard one of them ask if I was all right. I just sat up and yelled, "HE'S AWAKE!"

There was no need for them to ask who 'he' was, they just grabbed me and rushed into Danny's room, where he was glaring at his leg. I don't think he was too pleased to find that it was broken now; I was sure he last remembered it being one piece. Nurses took his vitals and checked charts and all sorts of other crap that I didn't know about but that was certainly important in the long run. I was just all smiles at Dan between the backsides of the women; he was glowering at first, sullenly letting himself be subjected to being taken care of.

I grinned as the doctors came in to be amazed and wonder at how Danny was back and functioning fully. I just kept smiling, smiling, smiling! Oh, there are just no words, really, to explain my elation; let's just out it this way - I was so happy that you could have trussed me up in pink and frills and I wouldn't have noticed. Yeah, I was that happy. But I was soon tossed from the room so they could begin more testing and interrogating Danny about how he felt. Tucker cam back with a cup of coffee in hand. I looked at me as if I'd lost my mind.

"Did I miss something?" he asked.

o-o-o

Well, that very evening we were allowed back into see Mr. Fenton and actually speak with him. I had, in light of the present situation, actually done more for my face than just slap eyeliner and polish in, but rather had gotten out the eyeshadow and hair clips. Full goth regalia, granted, but at least I looked good, or so I thought. I think Danny thought so too; he sat straight up when I entered...then clutched his ribs. Idiot. But a cute idiot.

I was all smiles again. This fact had Tucker nearly in stitches, Danny in quiet revelation and myself in sweet bliss. Life is good, Danny is alive. I'm a happy girl. So, someone, please tell me why I was resisting the urge to reach over and kiss Dan on the cheek. I wanted to hug him, yes, but his poor injured ribs...I was such a bad girl.

"So...Sammie..." Danny was looking me over and I was gnawing my lip as my pure joy abated slightly into apprehension. God I really wanted to - no! I couldn't! He was my best friend after all, right? I wish I could just say something, anything! But I was having trouble still pinning down the warm satisfied feeling in my stomach that was spreading slowly around and keeping me delightfully warm. I think I must have stopped breathing or something because the next thing I knew a very worried looking Danny was shaking my arm and wincing as he did so.

"Sorry." I said. "What were you talking about?"

"I asked, 'What's the occasion?', why are you all dressed up?"

"Can't a girl want to feel pretty?" I asked, stretching out my arms so the fishnet sleeves of my shirt stretched with them.

"That's not very-

"It's fine...just...different." Danny interrupted Tuck. He smiled and it was so honest I could almost feel my heart melt. I hope I didn't say that out loud. I leaned back in my chair (thank god my stomach was flat) and looked at my friend through lowered eyelids.

"Sex-ay." Tucker managed to say through a fit of giggles. I whacked him in retribution with my bag, which was very heavy, seeing as it was filled with all the things a girl needed to survive. Which my or may not included half of my CDs, a few novels, clothes, a CD player, reading light, GameBoy, make up, shoes and, of course, chocolate. My own personal home in a backpack, weighing in at about forty pounds, Tuck didn't stand a chance. Good thing Dan saved him.

My bag flew backwards out of my hands much to my surprise, landing safely near the entrance of Danny's bathroom. I glared playfully at him and he shrugged. I was doing everything playfully, I was playful, this does not sound like me, I know, but it was how I was feeling. Give me a break! Danny cleared his throat and I snapped back into reality once more.

"Tuck, can I speak to Sam...alone?" Danny asked, sounding unsure if himself. A silly smirk alighted Tucker's lips as he nodded. The door closed behind him, but we were both more than sure his ear was pressed against it. I motioned to the wooden thing and Danny nodded. I kicked the right spot and I heard an indignant cry of fury. I shook my head. "Can't trust him as far as you can throw him."

"Yeah, Sam, right before I woke up...what were you doing? I have the weirdest memories, almost like a dream...but not quite." Danny put a hand on his forehead. "I can't remember too much about what happened. All I remember is...nothing...but I got the strangest impression that I was being...stroked right before I got up. Does this make sense to you?"

Plenty. "No, not really, are you feeling ok?"

"Besides everything else?"

No, I want to know how you feel. "I want to know about everything."

"I feel like a pincushion - what did they inject me with, water?"

Well, how do you feel about me? Please, say anything. I have to know. "I think it was morphine or something like that."

"Well, it's not working."

I'll tell you what's not working, me doing all of this talking inside my head. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Sammie..."

He said my name, he said my name, he said my name. "Yeah?"

"What were you doing right before I woke up."

I had my head buried in your shoulder and I was smelling you. I know it sounds crazy, but, believe me, it seemed logical at the moment. "I was just...fixing you blankets."

"Oh, really? Because, now that I think about, I have the most insane thing. I could have sworn you were smelling me."

Oh crap. Crappity crap crap, not good. "Uh..."

Danny's eyes narrowed. "Were you?"

I- how do you- it's just that- oh god his eyes are so pretty- where did that come from? Stop it! I couldn't think straight, my thoughts kept bouncing around, picking up random fragments and words. Like that eyes thing...well, they were such a nice shade of blue- ok, that has to stop now. "Uh...I, Danny, it's just that- STOP STARING AT ME!"

"That is a very nice necklace." I looked down. Oh yeah, black skull, I'd forgotten I was wearing it. But that wasn't the point! Danny's eyes were sliding out of focus somewhere around the area of my chest. I snapped my fingers. "Yo, Danny boy, earth to Dan."

"Uh, yeah! Anyway, if you tell me now, I promise not to trash house, show up at any of your poetry slams or tell the entire school that you, one Samantha Manson, goth, listen to and enjoy the pop-y and incredibly unpopular Good Charlotte." I could kill him, I really could right then. That smile though, oh god, I was losing it over a smile I'd seen about a hundred times. I wanted to reach over and kiss him again. Aw, look at that, I never notice he had a dimple-

Whoa, ok, that's enough, just confess and get it over with. He'll get it out of you eventually anyway. I sighed and held my hands up in defeat. "You got me Dan, I was seeing what hospital sheets smell like."

I wanted to bite my tongue! That wasn't true...it just came out and, shoot, his whole figure seemed to droop and, ugh, why, I - it's something, gah, I still couldn't string together a sentence. But Danny looked so disappointed and I was kicking myself on the inside. I. Am. Such. A. God. Damn. Loser. Why did I say that? I guess because by now, some part of me realized how much I did like Danny, and well, it was pushing me onward. But I couldn't say it out loud, girls just don't do that sort of thing, it's supposed to be the guy comes to you. And Danny wasn't coming...he thought I was pushing him away. Damn.

_Some say that time changes  
__best friends can become strangers.  
__But I don't want that - no not for you. . .  
__. . . Don't say a word, I know you feel the same  
__just give me a sign; say anything, say anything_

ANOTHER CHAPTER! yay! And I'm listening to the Chronicles as I type this little note. I know, you must think I'm crazy right now, but, well, I am...so deal. I mean, if it takes a bunch of GC songs to bring you this...then what should you complain about, huh? ((grins)) I've been falling away, falling away, falling away - yeah, ok, I'll shut up. - Dru


	12. Hello, I Love You

**Starfire Star: **Wow, it's always nice to know that your writing can touch other people emotionally. It means you've done a good job and that you've put your own emotions into the writing. ((hugs)) And we all need to know that there is someone out there that can relate to the things we've gone through.

**Divine-Red-Crayon: **No, I haven't read any Georgia Nicholson books, although I've seen them and my friends have recommended them.

**Unlikely-to-bear-it: **((glares and hugs her Joel and Benji voodoo dolls)) MINE! ((insane laughing)) But I guess I have to share huh? Check out my Livejournal (http/ there is a rather funny GC based quiz thingy linked to it, you might have to scroll down a bit to get to it though. My results? Good news: It said I was most likely to shag Joel. ((goes completely red and laughs nervously)) Bad news: Benji and Billy hate me. I went, "AW! I want both the twins!" Then it was pointed out that braces and lip piercings probably wouldn't go together all that well. And my friend said that either way it was disturbing because when I wear eyeliner, apparently I look uncannily like Joel. Sorry Sarah, but I still ain't seeing it. So try the quiz thing, very fun! And Danny had to take a shot at them because that is the way they're treated at my school.

And to end this very long note, you want to know where I'm typing it? In DC, or well, actually, on my way out of DC. I'm on an airplane. I started typing in DC though…and, well, what a coincidence that we're talking about DC's Finest. ((grins)) I tried to get out of the airport to go stalking for that little Maryland town, but my dad caught me…dang.

**MerkFatallious:** ((goes pink)) Thank you, that's really, really flattering.

Lights out. That's the last thing I remember. Seriously, I was awake one moment and then, from there, I got nothing. It's a blank that end with Sam's face in my neck…I think, I'm not sure. Even waking up was hazy. Then that whole discussion with her that I knew was one big lie. I would know; I've been here long enough. She contorts her face when she's talking in her head, cute as it maybe, it make her an awful liar under pressure, although what pressure she was under was beyond me.

Still, it was disappointing hear "smelling hospital sheets" as answer to such a simple question. And I _knew_ she was lying, but I still accepted it. I supposed it's because we parted on such uneasy terms the last time. I have to smile bitterly here, last time, last time I can barely remember engaging in a fight, but I know I woke up with a useless leg, arm and beaten ribs. Not to mention the split lip that hurt worse then the rest of them combined.

So, well, Sam and I stayed on those terms for quite a while, becoming slightly awkward around each other. Tucker relished this, only teasing us about our situation. If I wasn't confined to this god damned bed I would be giving him a run for his money. But I am, so I can't and he continues.

By now, enough time had passed to bring up my birthday. I guess I should have been more thankful to survive to see fifteen, but I wasn't. "Friends", or the A-List of my school suddenly had more interest in me, but I found I had less interest in them. Even when one girl I would have killed to date once upon a time came to visit me and bring me work I'd missed, I found I dismissed her much faster than I should have. I should have been thankful for a chance with the in-crowd, but I found that the whole near death experience thing, yeah that, had me on a whole new track.

So, I spent my fifteenth birthday like this: covered in plaster, on enough painkillers to make a druggie sick and wiping the blood and drool off my lips constantly from my stupid cut. Sam and Tucker went all out, smuggling in a cake just for me and bringing enough presents to keep even the most greedy child happy. They came with smiles and cheer that I mirrored back to them somewhat falsely.

Tucker, as a joke I presume, gave me a crash helmet with a ghost painted sloppily on the black plastic. He said I needed it, that is, if it didn't fall through me when I needed it. Sam was holding off with her gifts, she said, 'til the end of all the others. Mom and Dad gave me something that was supposed to purge me of the spirits that were keeping my body injured. I think that was all Dad's idea because Mom sent a variety plate of cookies. Did I mention that her cookie are the best in the world?

Aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents sent me stuff off the expensive or eccentric sort. All of them felt bad for me I guess. I tore, literally, through everything, wanting to know what it was that Sam had for me. I waited (im)patiently as she slowly got _it_ out. It was a collection of music that would have put f.y.e., Strawberries, Border's and all the other of that lot to shame. I mean, she'd remembered everything I'd ever liked, past and present. There was everything, everything! And a new portable CD player to round it off.

But as I flipped through the binder that held all the CDs, I noticed it doubled as a scrapbook of sorts. There were pictures of us accompanied by lyrics that fit the pictures. There was one shot from the first day we met, me looking grouchy and covered in leaves and her smiling innocently at the camera. The words you may ask? "Hello, I love you, won't you tell me your name?" I but down on my lip, trying to not to laugh too hard. I glanced up to see that Sam was looking at me reproachfully…no, hopefully?

I didn't know, but there was something there that I wasn't used to. Could it have anything to do with the lying? I registered the lyrics in my head again, "Hello, _I_ _love you_, won't you tell me your name?" But it was just a song, and songs mean nothing in the long run, right? Still, it was pulling, tugging and wrestling with my mind. There was nothing there between us other than friendship…right? I mean, you just don't go changing you mind about people like that, it just doesn't happen like that. Ugh, I did not want this for my birthday. The inner battle, I mean, the music rocks.

Then it was cake time. I wanted to pull Sammie aside again, but I was certain I wouldn't be able to get anything out of her that way. Liar, liar, liar, liar – I _know_ you were _smelling_ me you liar. I _know_ something is up and I _know_ something is wrong with the both of us. Don't ask, I just _know_, can't you trust me enough to tell me _anything_? I mean, say something; say anything at this point. Then, thank the gods for Tucker's soda intake habits, Tuck had to go to the bathroom and it was just us, alone, and I know you're waiting for me to say 'in the dark', but it wasn't dark, and we weren't going to make out, thank you very much.

Sam seemed very much aware of this too, and she was talking her head again; that whole facial expression thing, yeah, it's such a dead giveaway.

"Sam?" I asked. She jumped a mile, as if she wasn't expecting me to speak. When she'd erased all signs of her surprise and started twisting a strand of hair between her fingers she answered, "Yeah?"

So, um, what was I supposed to say now? I mean, I had her attention, but there was sort of nothing on the floor that was open for discussion. Think Fenton, think! I could feel the palms of my hands actually going sweaty as I struggled to find a way to be subtle about questioning her behavior without sounding too accusatory. I _should_ have said something like, "I know things have been really messed up between us lately, but could you try to even let me in on what's going on here?" What came out, well, let's just say I botched it beyond botching it.

"What is with you lately? We've known each other and been _best_ friends since forever. What can't you tell me that I already don't know; and don't even bother lying, you suck at it." I would have clapped my hands over my mouth if my ribs hadn't been killing me or if I wasn't afraid of making my lip bleed. Sam looked at me in pure shock for a few seconds before bursting out laughing.

"Oh my god, Danny, thank you. You want to go to the movies when you get out of here without Tuck?" After she's let that out, it was her turn to realize maybe that isn't exactly what should have come out, but it had anyway. It was also my turn to be shocked.

"As in, like…a date?" I said slowly. Sammie shrugged. "Sure kid, if you want it to be, then it is." I swallowed. "Ok, then, a date it is."

What do you guys think! I'm so proud of this chapter! But wait 'til we get back to Sam, she's going to have a lot to say about this you know! And, next Saturday is my birthday! YAY! I'll be 15, same as Danny boy there. I want reviews, lots and lots of reviews! Don't worry Amy, Jess and Rocky have the GC fangirl covered. ((grins)) They keep alluding to what they got me and it's driving me insane! Oh yeah, and I'm wearing my new GC shirt from HT for my birthday! I don't care about all the snide little comments I get, I'm doing it anyway! YAY! I'm happy, very happy! – Dru


	13. Scratch Riot Girl, Puddle Girl

**Unlikely-to-bear-it: **AW! Concert? Come on, that is just way too sweet! Your brother going with you, seeing as you single-handedly turned him into a GC junkie and he stole your CDs and all. But ((sighs)) some of us aren't allowed to go to concerts...

**PhantomAL: **Um, ((cough)) 15 is so abig year! I got tickets to see Phantom of the Opera and an iPod, you can't do too much better than that!

**Fernu: **Welcome! Glad you like the story that much. And, I love the word schmaltzy because it looks like one giant misspelling and it's really fun to say.

_**Je vous remercerie aussi: **_

Phantomgirl515, Starfire Star, MerkFatallious, LMDG1UVR4EVA, outlawarcher, cakreut12, Eternity's Shadow!

**I realized last week I forgot to list all of you who reviewed, and I'm way sorry about that, but I was pressed for time when I was writing the big responses out, my computer was about to run out of power! **

Please, someone shoot me. I have to have the biggest and most spontaneous mouth in the world. I mean, I can't even control it for the most part and I can't lie very well, so – oh crap, Danny knew I was being a liar all along. It's just that, ah, I couldn't even keep my thoughts in line, the heck with my mouth. So, at least I got lucky with putting it off for a very long while.

See, when you're hurt that bad, they don't let you just walk right out of the hospital. No, you have to have physical therapy and all sorts of painkillers and (if you're Danny) a screaming fight with your doctor over why he didn't sew your lip shut because the goddamn thing is bleeding again. So I got lucky with the mental time to prepare for this occasion…um, but, well, see, I sort of forgot about it. Don't ask how or get too mad at me, but I did. And it was Dan who reminded me.

He was hanging around after physical therapy, yeah, I went too keep him company and to make sure he didn't kill himself on the elevator (he'd been trying to walk through the doors ghost style as the elevator passed the floor he needed to get off on, needless to say, this wasn't the safest activity and he nearly left half of himself on the fourth floor and the other half on its way to the first). Danny was staring bitterly at his arms and poking his stomach morosely.

"Not a month ago…damn rest!" He was whining about how out of shape he was with being laid off for so long. Ok, so his arms had gone back to being little twigs and, ok, his stomach didn't exactly apply as rock-hard (not that anyone had known it was besides me and Tuck) as it had before. He scowled and shoved his thumb into his abs, maybe hoping that he could conjure them back to their former state, wincing from his aching ribs. He let his breath out through clenched teeth. I tsk-tsked his play.

"You know it's going to hurt, why do you do it?" I asked. He let out a frustrated growl and replied, "It's not fair!" Boys and their egos, it can get a little annoying sometimes.

"Dan, you're alive, isn't that enough?" I chided. He actually _pouted_ and went, "No."

I rolled my eyes and scuffed the white hospital floor with the heel of my combat boot. It was too white…now it was better with a gray rubber streak smeared eccentrically on the tile. Danny studied my artwork. "Nice, the janitors are going to kill you." I shrugged, "I'm bored."

He nodded, staring off into space. "What are we going to see?"

"Um, how about a lot of wet pavement, you do know what's outside the doors, don't you Danny?" Danny snorted and looked at me like I had gone daft, "No silly, what are going to see at the movies?"

Uh oh, I thought, thrown off by his little and innocent sounding comment, not good. How could I have forgotten that? Ok, well, it wasn't that hard considering I had said that about three weeks ago. But how had Danny, Master of the Short Attention Span and Lord of Zero Any Term Memory remember something as simple as us going to the movies? He intruded again with a cutesy grin on his face. "I believe you said it was _date_."

That was hit below the belt right there, but it had been what we'd said wasn't it? I fought the urge to roll my eyes again. "Danny, I was kidding."

"Oh no," his voice was saturated with mock seriousness, "You meant it, yes you did. It's a date, and you're not getting out of it."

"Danny," I protested in a bit of a whiny voice, "Just let it go, sometimes we say things we don't mean."

Danny contorted his face into a wide-eyed stare and cocked his head. "But Sammie _never_ lies." He blinked again and again, looking all sweet. I had to bite my tongue to keep from melting into a puddle. The heck with Elijah Wood, Danny Fenton's eyes were just as big and as blue and he wasn't short at all. Nor had he been duped by 'Tig' at any point in his life. Danny cocked his head further. "Did Sammie lie?"

"N-no, I didn't lie." I felt my face flush a little and Dan just grinned wider then ever. I continued to stutter, "B-but, wouldn't you be a l-little happier bringing Tuck or m-maybe Jazz…? Don't look at me like that!" He'd been giving me the puppy look. Aw, he was just so cute, I wanted to eat him- ok, you weren't supposed to hear that.

"I don't want to bring them, Sammie, I just wanna go with you." Damn his smile, I was melting into a puddle, I think my feet had dissolved, seriously, someone save me before you needed a bucket and a mop to clean me up! It wasn't like all those times before where I had found myself fighting the feeling; today all control was just gone, utterly lost in the flood. And then, well…

And then Danny put his face painfully close to mine, to the point where if I had gone to speak, my lips would have brushed his. Ok, so it's not like we haven't kissed before that or anything, but this would have been different, you know? I sucked in my breath nervously as only the faintest smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, daring me to move, his eyes glittering playfully.

"Danny…Sam?" a voice cut in and I could have sworn I heard Danny muttering obscenities as he jumped in surprise, jolting his aching body. The nurse or whatever looked at us like we were crazy and we both red, realizing what had been up. She told us that our ride was here. I got up, ready to run after it finally hit me that everyone in the room had been staring at us, but Danny grabbed me and pulled me back. He made me walk sedately to the door where he hugged me, laughing. "We got them going huh?"

"What? What were you trying to do?" I asked, a little peeved that he was taking this so easily. He buried his head in my neck, making me shiver.

"Oh, just setting up for our date. Friday, I think seven might be a good time." With that, he walked out of the doors, hands in his pockets and whistling; he looked back at me as if to say, "Whatcha waiting for?"

I shook my head, smiled at him and went through the doors myself. I caught up to him and he nodded, throwing an arm around my shoulders. "Friday?"

I nodded. "Friday."

Does this make you guys happy? Today's my birthday and I wanted to give you something spectacular. And for me, this is rather cutesy cute gooey sappy! So, enjoy, the date is chapter 14 for all of you wondering, so I am getting to it. I'm sure I'll get there faster with a few reviews, you know? Ta! – Dru


	14. Taking You Out :: Sam

**Kats02980416: **I wanted Sam to be off guard because (obviously) she was bored at the moment, not tense or overtly critical as in the other situations I have her in. Danny was merely using a tactic I have seen employed many times (even on me) by a friend of mine's neighbor. Once he starts the cutesy playfulness, erg, you can't keep a straight face, no matter how much you want to strangle him.

**Call Me Blue Streak: **I'm not a ZIM fan, though I'm friends with quite a few. I will, however obey the Danny plushie. ((hugs it)) Danny: Can't. Breathe…need AIR! Oo! It talks!

**Allaloneinthedarkandstillhere: **I thought you knew I was a DxS fan! After all, you do read my DPS works, so I assumed that you'd read my bio, ect.

_**Je vous remercerie aussi:**_

**scubagurl, MerkFatallious, Fernu, Katie Mae, Eternity's Shadow, Hina Beetles Fenton!**

_Ok y'all! Here we are, date time! But, see, I'm doing this a little different than the rest of the story**. This chapter is TWO parts.** **Taking You Out: Sam **and** Taking You Out: Danny**, so if you wonder why the next chapter is almost the same, that's why. I wanted to get the sediments of both during the thing, so this was solution I came up with. Oh, and because I got a little crazy and high off feeling good as of late, I asked someone out (see chapter ten, I think I reference this person)! HAH! Go me! And all my friends are in shock as of late because they thought I wouldn't do it, yeah right! I don't know when to be shy and I'm shy when I should be bold. Very funny…what are you doing still reading this! Read the chapter ghosts! _

**_Taking You Out: Sam_**

I pushed up the volume of my stereo and Perfect Circle wailed at me. Not to be redundant, but, perfect. Then I went back to my closet to hunt down something nice, but not too formal, but still a little classier than usual without screaming 'I'm out on a _date _with my best friend!'. Did that make any sense to you? Nah, I didn't think so.

Anyway, I was ripping everything out of my closet and throwing it all around my room until the hardwood floor was a thing of the past. Defeated, I sat down atop a pile of pants, resting my head on my hands. I got up to switch the songs and found I had a tank-top stuck to my foot. I picked it up curiously; then paled a little, wondering why I even owned the thing in the first place.

It was too bold to be mine, a black contraption with loud purple paint splatters on it and a drop on the back so low it could have almost passed as a halter top. I held it up to myself in the mirror and sighed. It was the only thing I hadn't tried on yet…and truth be told, it was the last thing I owned. So in the spirit of all this experimentation, I donned it along with Tripp pants and fishnet gloves that screamed 'goth'.

I was done with make up (just my normal stuff, not anything heavy!) when I heard the doorbell ring. I had to grab the sink to keep standing. I couldn't do this, I couldn't do this; Danny had messed with my head so bad! I meant to run my fingers through my hair, but they wound up sitting there, frozen along with the rest of me. I leaned back against the shower and swallowed hard. I had to do it, he'd been so excited and I couldn't let him down like that. I just didn't have it in me, but, god, why was I having all this trouble breathing! I sucked in air greedily, finally remembering that I had to breathe.

I got down the stairs just as someone finally let Dan into the house. He looked at me and rolled his eyes. "Get enough beauty sleep Sammie?"

I stuck my tongue out. "None your business."

"Nice grammar." Danny carried on the playful banter. I forced myself to breathe again. Breathe, oi, I had to remember to breathe; now that is sad. "At least I dressed up." And I had, Danny was in his standard get up. He looked down at his beaten Vans and shrugged. "I wanted to be comfortable."

Comfortable! Buddy, I was wearing a bloody tank-top in March for your sake, you could have at least put on a different shirt! I scowled and Danny just grinned right back at me. I stuck out my tongue again and he mimicked me right back in my face. I feigned insult and turned my back on him. I heard one of the people who worked in the house (I don't like to say servants, it sounds so demeaning) laughing from the staircase. I looked up and the woman pointed to Danny. I spun to see he was on his knees with a mock begging look, blinking innocently at me. Oh god.

"Get up." I said swiftly. He broke out laughing and hopped to his feet, touching his chest unconsciously, he was so badly hurt still; was going out such a good idea? I hollered to whoever cared that I was heading out, be home by ten. Then we left.

Ok, so one of the things that sucks about being a kid is that you can't drive, you've got to walk if you don't want your parents driving you everywhere. It helped that we lived in a suburban area where the mall, restaurants and movie theaters were within walking distance. I was freezing in the mid March air by the time we were standing outside the theater. Tank tops? Yeah, not the hottest idea I've ever had. I pulled my coat closer, shivering.

Danny looked at me to make sure it was ok before sliding one of his arms out his jacket and pulling me in. "Idiot." He murmured. I smiled weakly and squirmed a little to get the heat going. Let me tell you, Danny was plenty warm enough for the both of us. I heard a few couples and groups from our school whispering none to restrainedly. I frowned and bit my lip; there was no way we were going to be able to deny being an item after this little excursion.

I didn't want to see The Ring Two (**A/N: **Sorry Alex, but Hitchhiker wasn't out at the time this is set); I hadn't even liked the first one. Evil little Samara was done, trapped in a well, story done and over with for good. But no, here they are making a sequel and I'm babbling to avoid thinking. Eh, yeah, I might have to stop now huh?

Danny wouldn't let me pay for tickets, he even told the guy working at the counter not to let me! I scowled and bemoaned the fact. I could and would pay my own way; I had, after all, invited him in the first place. But Dan had restrained me with a simple, "My treat."

Now we were waiting in the snack line, having another playful banter about what to get. Iced tea, or soda with Swedish Fish or popcorn or a whole assortment of candy. I knew we were bring so cutesy and were past the point of no return with any hope of ever refuting the idea that we were boyfriend and girlfriend. But in my mind it still seemed that I was at ease with my best friend. Could that…become…something more…?

The thoughts toyed with my mind and I began to fight the urge to move away from Danny. I mean, yes, I love him like _friends_ are wont do, but like that? I was reverting to my unsure and unsteady self from the happy, carefree Sam of not two minutes ago. I had subconsciously clenched my hand into a fist with my effort to seem ok and Dan was now looking me over uneasily. In fact, he now seemed a little nervous himself. I uncurled my fist.

"Hey kids, you want anything or not?" the guy at the counter was yelling at us, making us both jump. Smooth…

"Yeah…what do you want anything Sammie?"

"Ugh-"

"Hurry up!"

"Popcorn, diet Coke."

"Thank god. And next time, remember it quick!" the irritated man shoved the stuff at us as Danny threw money at him. Then we made a break for theater nine to the whispers of kids from our school. We hit the dim theater and picked seats in the nosebleed section. What is it with people, god! They were turning around to see who it was and then, you guessed it, more whispering.

I groaned and pulled the collar of my coat up. "Don't they ever stop?"

"Irg ha ner clur, percrn?"

"Danny," I rolled my eyes, "Swallow."

"I have no clue, popcorn?"

I took some of the white fluffy stuff and filled my mouth with it. I might also like to point out that your usual ritual of sharing the straw of a giant soda might become a little awkward and I might also like to point out that you should probably hit your friend hard around the head when the lights dim for the movie and he goes, "Hey, Sammie, it's me and you…alone…in the dark."

o-o-o

I was half way through the movie and I was going nuh-night, out like a light, you get the idea, enter the Sandman, ect, so forth and so on. As much as the movie was supposed to be some big thriller and a mystery until the very end, I found I could have cared less about what was happening.

I yawned quietly and closed my eyes, breathing in the theater smell of sugar and old popcorn. Slouching in my seat, I rested my boots on the seat in front of me with a small sigh. I thought dating was different than this, but apparently…well, from what I could see there was one of two routes.

One would be the one Danny and I were taking, which was a sedate and proper one involving nothing more than just hanging out really. Or you could be like the couple in the front row and be trying to eat each other's faces. Personally, I found what we were doing to be much better than the alternative presented by the other couple.

I took a tentative sip from the Coke, which was now mainly melted ice and completely gross. Still bored as could be, I closed my eyes again and finally drifted off, only to be woken who knows how much later by Dan shaking me. I groaned at him before realizing we were in the middle of a theater, the credits rolling by on the screen. I sat up as quick as I could make my sluggish body function.

"I'm sorry." I said around a yawn, "But – ah – I wasn't much into the movie." I gazed sleepily up at Danny. "Sorry I ruined your big night."

I was trying to use the arms of the theater seat to push myself up, but it wasn't quite working as well as it should have. Give me break, I was still half out, so Danny helped me up, putting one of my arms over his shoulders. I mumbled my thanks and he replied, "Nothing to it kid, but you do have to move your feet."

I looked down and noticed he'd been dragging me along. I tinged pink.

Ok, I know, but it'll make more sense when I finish writing Danny's portion of this. I'm sorry I didn't update sooner, but this chapter was a killer, literally! Ok, well, ta – Dru!


	15. Taking You Out :: Danny

**Corey: **Of course that was Phantom of the Opera! I can't resist sliding a little in, but you're supposed to keep that secret! SH, you not-bold-enough-to-knock-someone-over-to-touch-Joel-  
person! It's ok that you didn't mug his brother, that wasn't going to happen, but you should have TOUCHED! I mean, come on, he was crowd surfing!

**Chocolate:** Well, I know there are certain ways people want to go, if they have to is the whole thing. Kayla was a very active horseback rider, we both are, and to die by horse and doing what we love means more to people like us than to die in our sleep. No offense, I just wanted to tell you that.

**AnImEfAnFoRlIfE: **Glad to know you enjoy reading!

**PhantomAL: **Thanks! And I know I recommended "I Don't Wanna Stop" to you to try to make up for that. It's a good song, neh?

**Unlikely-to-bear-it: **I though the whole "alone in the dark" comment was pretty good myself, although I wasn't sure how that would go over with you guys. Apparently very well. Say hi to 'Der-bear' for me! And if one of the twins goes crowd-surfing, I want to hear that you TOUCHED them/him.

_**Je vous remercerie aussi:**_

**Cyndi1, cakreut12, Phantomgirl515, spongebobphantom, Divagurl277, Katie Mae, allaloneinthedarkandstillhere **

_**Taking You Out: Danny**_

"Daniel Fenton you get out of that bathroom NOW!"

Ok, yes, I know, that doesn't sound quite right, but, um, that's what it sounded like. Er, I prayed the lock would hold as Jazz pounded at the door. She was making me do this, making me go on a date. With my best friend. She wasn't letting me back out because my feet got cold, and believe me, they were freezing.

I had just locked myself in here, my shirt in hand seeing as Jazz had ambushed me with the comb and clean clothes not seconds before. I had been in the process of changing my shirt, but, well, this one would have to do. My sibling continued to rage at the door and then everything went silent. Meaning I had about thirty seconds before she got back here with the pen to pop the lock.

I slid my shirt back on, pausing as I did so to look at my stitches. All thirty of them in various places. I seemed to have gotten lucky in that way, the doctors said, not to have been slashed so badly in one place, but rather small cuts in multiple spots. I just said it was painful either way and it would have been a godsend if I didn't have to resort to sleeping half in my bed and half off to avoid laying on the damn stitches. I traced the black thread with an inquisitive finger, wincing slightly.

I heard Jazz on the stairs, whoop de do, and I was forced to exit through the bathroom wall. I turned back as soon I was through and opened the window to make it seem as if I crawled out. Invisible, I snuck back into the house to grab my Vans and a jacket; that March air is nippy! Then it was off to Sam's house to, well, pick her up for our date.

So yes, I have to admit I was nervous. I will say that I may or may not have come this close to peeing my pants when I rang the doorbell and I may or may not have seriously considered playing ding-dong ditch right at that moment. But one of Sam's family's servants opened up the door. I kicked myself mentally for saying servant in my head, Sam preferred staying away from that term and had yelled at me many a time for using the word for there was a lack of a better word. I could hear her stereo pounding away. I listened closely; Passive was the song, which meant Perfect Circle was playing.

I looked up as Sammie appeared at the stop of the stairs looking weary and sort of flustered. Not to mention her outfit; I didn't even know she owned a shirt that went that low...I looked back at her face, yes, keep your eyes on the face Danny boy. She looked so tired. "Get enough beauty sleep Sammie?" I poked fun at her.

She scowled and stuck her tongue out, replying, "None your business."

"Nice grammar." I commented playfully, still thinking a little but about that shirt, eyes on the face! She was descending the stairs, looking me over.

"At least I dressed up." Sam said cooly. I looked at my shirt and shoes, now feeling a little guilty that she was dressed up and I was not. After all, that tank top...face, face, face, face, face, face, look at the face. All the same, I shrugged and answered her, "I wanted to be comfortable."

I could see what Sam was thinking, it was right there on her face. It must have been something like, "I'm wearing a bloody tank top! Could you have at least put a different shirt on for me?" She's twisted her face back into a scowl, to which I simply grinned to see her try to come back at me. Sammie just stuck out her tongue, too easy, I simply mimicked her back. Then she spun on her heel and turned her back to me. I rolled my eyes and thought for a second before dropping to my knees. Oh, ow, those damn ribs of mine screamed in protest.

Another person who worked in the house was at the top of stairs and she laughed at me. I winked at her, grinning weakly. Sam's head tilted as she looked up at the woman in question. She pointed to me and Sam looked over her shoulder before turning to face me again.

"Get up." She told me curtly as I simply smiled back up at her. I found my feet, touching my battered body in the process. I had skipped my painkillers for the night so I wouldn't fall asleep during the movie. I knew by then Sam was trying to think of excuses not to go, my injury being one of them. She still grabbed her own coat through and yelled to the house that she'd be back by ten.

We then set out down the street for the theater seeing as neither of could drive. But one of the great things about living in suburbia is that most everything is within walking distance, things like the mall, the restaurants and the movies. So it wasn't too bad, but it was cold outside, it was only March after all. Sammie started shivering, her coat apparently not enough over her tank top. As nice as she looked in the thing (the tank top, that is) it wasn't her brightest idea. I looked over at her and she nodded.

I slipped one of my arms out of my jacket and pulled her in. Sam curled her arm comfortably around my waist the way she did when we went flying to close the space and I made sure my jacket was covering us both. "Idiot." I murmured to her and Sam just gave me a small smile back, moving a little to get the heat going. Good thing it was dark out because I was sure I was as red as a Christmas light.

As we walked into the theater, other kids from our school started whispering animatedly and pointing to us when they thought we weren't looking. Sam sidled away from me, chewing her lip, brow creased in thought. I stepped into the line to pay for our Ring 2 tickets. I brought out a wad of hard saved cash from my birthday, Sam stopped my hand, drawing out her own money. I can't pretend I didn't know this was coming. I ignored her, saying to the theater employee, "Don't let her pay for a thing." She fumed, but I was able to placate her with a basic, "My treat."

We were waiting in the line for snacks, laughing and playing, actually forgetting where we were or who might be watching. Did we want soda, or iced tea with Swedish Fish or popcorn or should I just tickle Sammie again so she tried to be mad at me but was laughing hysterically. It was just so cute and all that stuff that I began to wonder if we were ever going to be able to deny being a couple ever again, but, eh, well, I wasn't thinking about it that much, I was having too much fun making her laugh then.

But Sam, I noticed, was beginning to take the people around us gossiping to heart, and it showed. Her fist clenched and her eyes began to dart around the lobby, picking out just who was looking at her. They came to quickly rest on me as I observed this; she averted her gaze and I became suddenly nervous myself, but I saw her fist uncurl.

"Hey kids, you want anything or not?" the guy working at the counter wound up yelling at us as we drifted off into our own little worlds. "Yeah..." I glanced back at my date. "What do you want anything Sammie."

"Ugh-" she was cut off mid thought.

"Hurry up!" "Popcorn, diet Coke." Sam shot at the man, glowering impressively in her gothic style.

"Thank god. And next time, remember it quick!" he said, shoving our order at us as I threw money at him. Sam and I ran for our theater, sitting in the highest seats we could find as far back as you could go, trying to hide from our peers, who were turning a whispering more. I got comfortable in my seat as Sammie groaned and tugged at the collar of her coat ask me, "Don't they ever start?"

I, who had been stuffing my face with the popcorn, had to reply, "Irg ha ner clur, percrn?"

I heard her sigh. "Danny, swallow."

I already had. "I have no clue, popcorn?" Sam grabbed the box from my hands and began to occupy herself with something other than worry. It became apparent that our normal ritual of sharing the straw of the giant soda was going to be a little awkward, but I just tried to ignore the sensation. The lights dimmed and, though I was sure Sam was going to knock me hard around my head, I just had to say, "Hey, Sammie, it's me and you...alone...in the dark."

o-o-o

It was halfway through the movie and Sam was going. She was shifting and sighing and sipping at the Coke. She finally yawned, stretched and was out like a light. I finished the movie and watched her sleep halfway through the credits. Before she'd knocked out, she'd been watching a couple in the lower levels make out rather shamelessly. I pondered at what she's been thinking. I finally shook her by her shoulders. A little roughly, granted, but she was up.

"I'm sorry." Sam apologized. "But - ah - I wasn't much into the movie." she looked up at me sleepily, trying to make her body obey the commands she was giving it. "Sorry I ruined your big night."

She tried again to get to her feet from her seat by grabbing hod of the arm rets of her seat and pushing herself up. I took one of her arms and casually slid it over my shoulder because she was still half asleep. Sam mumbled some form of thanks to me as I dragged her along.

"Nothing to it kid, but you do have to move your feet."

She looked down and blushed, finally hopping to and moving her feet. We exited into the dark and she tugged at my coat. I slid my arm out again and we moved off to her house,

TA DA! Chapterage for y'all and I'm off to soak in the tub. And I dyed my hair purple, well, the tips at least. Which is pretty cool. And I've been listening to some new music one of my friends gave me (Tool, Disturbed, A Perfect Circle, Papa Roach, The Cruxshadows, Bella Morte) and it's pretty good. - Dru


	16. Formidable Openents

**Unlikely-to-bear-it: **AMY! I've been trying to mail you but your screen name isn't working…what's up? Please tell me soon, we were having ever so much fun with the Benji and Joel dolls…

**LMDG1UVR4EVA: **Nah, I'm not too much big on if you review every chapter or not. Feel free to review when ya want as long as you do at some point, that's enough for me!

**Starfire Star: **Wow, those were some long reviews ya left me! And every chapter you missed too, thanks mucho gusto! Heh, my hair is still the same color 'cause I only died the ends. And I'm very phobic about needles, so I'm not getting anything pierced anytime soon.

**PhantomAL: **Haha, thank you for pushing me forever to write this. And yes, next chapter will be kept under lock and key and far away from Jess' sticky fingers! I should have the demo done later today.

_**Je vous remercerie aussi:**_

**PhantomGirl515, cakreut12, Astera121, scubagurl**

The night air was depressing and impenetrable, it seemed, as Danny and I walked home. The wind had picked up since we had entered the theater and was now tugging at our clothes, giving me the impression it was almost alive. I stuck close to Danny, who, if anything, seemed to enjoy the attention and had wrapped his arm around my waist, making me wonder if he was thinking about just flying us out.

The wind stepped up another notch and howled along in our faces so hard it was painful. I thought I saw something move out of the corner of my eye and I whipped my head around wildly to see what it was…but there was nothing. Something caught the corner of my eye again, but when I looked there was nothing. Danny was getting nervous and had tightened his grip on my waist. We came to dead stop.

Then the wind really did scream. Loudly too. It bore down on us in a terrifically awful rush. Danny's breath ran blue and his eyes widened. He slid out of his coat and grabbed me roughly by my hand and yanked me into a run. We came to the school and Danny braced us against a wall as the screaming came again. His eyes were still wide with…fear? I pulled his coat close as the temperature began to plunge further; if Danny was afraid, then I should definitely be.

There were small flickers of light all around and they were amassing somewhere off to our right. Danny breath became rushed as he switched. My jaw dropped; he was going to fight now? He was still injured!

"Sam," his voice was stretched and thin sounding and his face pale, "Stay here. If I don't come back, go home. Call my parents and tell them I ditched you at the theater and you waited for me-"

"What do you mean "if" you don't come back?" I asked, suddenly frightened. Danny looked me levelly in the eyes, the green that had claimed the blue faded for a second to teal mixture, and replied, "Remember last time?"

I fell back against the wall; last time? This was what he'd fought last time? This is what had proved to be such a formidable opponent above all the rest? I shuddered and looked to where the lights were growing stronger. "What is it?"

"I don't have time for that, it's only a matter of time before I don't work anymore." He replied, already some ten odd feet above my head. I didn't want him to leave me here to try to run; and I got the feeling he didn't want to leave me to fend for myself either. But it had to done; Danny flew off.

And I disobeyed and followed.

I stayed in the bushes as the silver streak I knew was Danny landed neatly where this pulsing blob of light was growing larger. The otherworldly light bathed the clearing with a sense of danger. I stole closer to the scene, afraid for Danny and dead curious as to what this thing was.

"Hey there ugly! See you haven't lost any weight since I last saw ya." Danny bantered fearlessly. The thing turned what I had assumed was a face, but in fact it was many, to him and bared its teeth at Danny. The wind picked up even more speed and the wails of the blob before me intensified. Danny's face cracked into a nervous smile. "HA! You can't do it this time."

The faces moved in a mixture of cold mirth and anger before whispering in many voices that sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard, "_Yet_."

Danny's expression was unreadable and he folded his arms. "I hardly think you can, seeing as you failed to kill me the last time."

Do what? What happened? My mind was scrambling for a way to put things together as the two continued. What _was_ this thing? It didn't seem to be any one ghost but rather multiple spirits that had compiled themselves into one force, one very big thing that was pulsating and squirming as more spirits dove into the mass. I stood and leaned against a tree as Danny circled the monster, making its heads follow him. Then, the thing made to strike.

Danny would have been able to get a hit in if I hadn't let my fears and worries for him get the better of me. "NO!" I yelled and then clapped my hands over my mouth as the two spectral warriors turned to me. The blob's heads broke into various vicious smiles as Danny's head whipped to see me standing there and his face blanched.

"SAM!" he yelled. "RUN!"

I turned and tried to run, but it was too late for that. The green lights descended over my head and pulled me in with their icy hands. I fought and kicked every moment they dragged me along. But soon I was standing between them, a hostage…great. Just peachy, this was all my fault. I struggled as the thing stood me up in front of Danny.

"_Your friend_." It cackled gleefully, running the hands around my shoulders and down my back, making me shudder. Danny looked _pissed_ beyond compare. Righteous anger I'd assume, at me or the blob…uh, yeah, I wasn't too sure. I closed my eyes and sucked in my breath to clear my head.

"Put. Her. Down." Danny said shortly. The blob leaned down, I could feel the wisps of all its breath on my neck as it answered, "_No_."

Dan was now officially enraged as he paced, slipping his fingers through his pale hair, green eyes flashing menacingly. I felt the power collect steadily behind me and there came an overwhelming outwards thrust of energy. It floored Danny and he was knocked to the ground, but he bounced back to his feet quickly. There was one problem though.

His eyes were back to blue, even if the rest of his appearance still correlated with his ghost side. Danny sneered and focused until his eyes were at least teal; he was having trouble forcing them back. "You can't do it!"

There was the thrust again but Danny stood and bore it, but his hair became black again along with his eyes returning to their normal state. This time, he couldn't right the damage; I realized what was going on. Slowly, but surely, this _thing_ was shorting out his powers. I gasped and a ghost winding around my feet laughed cruelly.

"_Run little one, run_." It teased collectively. "_Run and we don't kill her_."

Danny was shaking his head, trying, trying so hard to force himself to reclaim his powers, but he wasn't winning, they were receding too fast. He was still on his feet though, and still looking mad enough to kill. I suppose he wanted payback for his injuries before, but it looked so hopeless from my point of view. The blob stretched itself out and walled Danny in. With a spectacular flash, Danny was just Danny and now sitting in a heap on the ground. My friend forced himself to his feet…in time to be smashed against a tree. I screamed out loud…we were dead meat.

I'm BA-A-A-A-CK! It took me a while for a few reasons, one of them being my original fic on Fiction Press, so I'm sorry. But there's something for you to devour.

AND, I want to see some interest on a collaboration! Mssr. PhantomAL and I are going to write a small fic called "Psychology" about Sam and Danny discussing different topics without the other present, of course. See my bio for more details. But, who'd be interested in reading something like that? Drop me a line if you are. Ok? Sweet! – Dru


	17. This Time

Oh man…it's been a while huh? I'm sorry, but I got into other things over that period of time, and I have an update now, so I am not going to beg forgiveness.

That was it.

That one moment.

I was in excruciating pain, yes. I thought I was going to pass out, yeah. I knew I'd busted those god damn ribs of mine again, most definitely. But right then, then and there, something snapped.

I knew what I was fighting, hell, it had taken me long enough to find the dirt on the Gathering. Yeah, it has a name. All lesser ghosts amassed into one, colossal blob thing that could short out my powers. This phenomenon was rare in the Ghost Zone, but not impossible.

I used an elbow to prop myself up and grabbed a tree branch to stand. The wind swapped directions yet again, making it impossible for me to be sure where the portal was that these ghosts were coming in from. I knew their intent though: my destruction.

It was like one of those cartoons you watch on Saturday mornings, only real and really dangerous. And now my enemy had a real hostage.

Sam had screamed and was surely frightened, but I think her temper was beginning to win the better of her now that I was back on my feet. She was kicking out at the hands that held her down, trying madly to get free. I crouched down where I was and tried to form a tactic.

With no way to communicate with Sam clearly, I was sure that whatever plan I could come up with would be a one shot deal. There would be no such things as repeats here. I coughed and spat out blood, but ignored it.

My powers would come back a little the further away I moved from the Gathering. If I moved closer, then I'd get weaker, regardless if I was human or not, I'd still be affected.

My mind was racing and thrashing like so much goth metal gone awry. I knew she had my coat on, which, actually, was something of a help because it had the thermos in it. You can't say I'm totally unprepared. Ok, so fine we had way to use but, but who are you to be judgmental?

I turned my back and started to retreat. If the Gathering stayed in the school yard then I'd have a chance of recovering some speed. I started running like hell. I could feel myself coming back. At four blocks over I was able to change. Seven blocks and I could fly. Up, up, up I ascended into the cold air.

I splayed my fingers and felt the cold running through them like water or hair, waking me up. I gasped from the pain in my body, but the cold numbed it enough to allow me higher. I hovered, calculating how far back I could go before I'd ultimately plummet into the Gathering, which was my best chance at getting to Sam.

Of course, that would also mean I'd probably find my way to another coma or my death. I was banking on death at that point; being in a coma sucks.

I dove like a silver bullet. I felt I could have ripped the sky in half and left the sun naked, but that wouldn't be enough. The green light danced tantalizingly in front of me, everything I could see became illuminated in it. I felt my strength begin to taper. I roared inside, NO! I became determined to cling to it.

The school came into clear view. Sam was distressed, but still trying to fight her way out. At about thirty feet I lost flight and plunged right into the ghosts.

As I'd caught them relatively unaware, I luckily collided with the ground over being caught by them. I hit hard with a sickening thud that made Sam gasp. I thought I'd broken my neck, to tell the truth. Surprisingly, I was still switched, but I was fading fast.

"Oh my god!" Sam's mouth was agape as I found my feet and forced my way to her side. Her face was confused. She must have thought I'd abandoned her, and that wasn't the best sensation for me at the moment. I fought though the other ghosts to the pockets of my coats and then my powers shut off. Kind of like you shut off the TV.

So, I was holding the Fenton thermos, now completely useless, and was standing in the Gathering, something potentially hazardous to my health.

"I thought you'd left…" Sam's voice was shattering over the noise of the wailing spirits above me. I swayed uneasily. I had to ignore her, I had to, I had to focus on getting us out of here.

"I need to power this." I waved the thermos in her face. "I'll explain later…I swear…"

Sam's face contorted for a second. "There maybe one way."

"Anything!" I encouraged, leaning against her. "Anything that would work."

"Trick it!" She hissed. "Trick it into power the thermos. It's suicide!"

"Suicide?" I asked. "Who have you been hanging around with?"

"A few emo kids- just do it!"

Now, that sounds simple enough. I plunged blindly ahead. I was batted to the side by a larger ghost.

"Ho ho," he chuckled menacingly, "I see how it is you win! You keep all your powers in a little-"

Well, there's nothing after that, he grabbed the thermos and it lit up and went to work. My savoir. The Gathering began swirling around me, forcing itself into the thermos. Then there was a grand explosion, and I can't remember anymore.

o-o-o

I woke up. I jumped to and got ready to fight.

"AH!" My scream pierced the cold. All around was green gunk, and people sifting through it. All of a sudden, in the blur, my parents were at my side and the police not far behind them. I slogged through the stuff, which was disgustingly warm, where was Sam!

My father grabbed my shoulders in my frantic searching and I was dragged back to an ambulance. They asked my questions about last night and Sam. God damn it! Where was she?

My thoughts were interrupted by the gasp of my mother. I caught my reflection in the steel bars of the ambulance. My eyes were green. I blinked, willing them back. And, for once, it didn't work. It never would again. That doesn't matter though. What mattered was that I'd lost my best friend.

K, yeah, that sucks. Any way, read and review, please and thank you!


	18. Finding Sam

**Heka: **Pzow, yes, I am very enthusiastic when it comes to GC because Benjamin is very pretty. Tattoos, piercings, double chin and all. Hate Jilary though. shakes her head

**Unlikely-to-bear-it: **No, Sam's not dead. I don't feel like playing god, I'm not killing anyone off. Too lazy…

**RavensDarkRose: **Dude, I deal with a lot of horse shit. I have eleven horses. I was hardly offended. XP

_**Je vous remercerie aussi:**_

**Joralie, Phantom Duelist, divalady963, Starfire Star, Candy Dragonstar, dannyxsam-forever, MetalThatOne, cakruet12 **and** SHADOW ANGUS **

_200 reviews! FACK YES!_

I crashed through another set of EMTs. Poor guys. But then, they had no right to keep me sitting here when I was supposed to be searching for Sam. My parents had placed me under their care. This was Set 3, Harris and Cooper. Poor guys.

I levitated a pair of medical scissors and shot it at Cooper's head. They'd lasted longer than the other sets; I give them that. Cooper only dodged the scissors and Harris, who was superstitious, frowned further.

The advantage to having such ghost-obsessed parents was that that reasoned away my now electric-green eyes to having been immersed in the ectoplasm all over the school grounds. I knew better. I have to explain this further, though.

In the Ghost Zone, there are those ghosts with enough power to subdue anyone beneath them. They flex their muscles over their domain; usually driving minor ghosts into oblivion. These minors usually don't have a specific form or truly original thinking, and they are virtually powerless on their own.

However, once in a while, one of them gets enough brain power to finally assemble the idea that all the minor ghosts combined could be truly powerful. This manifestation is rare in the Ghost Zone and is often disastrous. It is called the Gathering. This is the first time it's been seen out here in the human world. And it was after me.

There's almost a merit, in the Ghost Zone, to having faced off the halfa and survived. Or at least done it. At all. It appears some little ghostie scrunched his little green forehead together and came up with the great idea that beating the Phantom would win minors more power.

Not so, because, obviously, I'd put them in their place. As bad as that sounds, some things should just never happen. The Gathering, together, had powers some of my other enemies did not. Like the ability to short out my powers while I was in their presence. Whoever commanded the Gathering was obviously some sort of cunning, because they'd use this to their advantage in our first tussle.

Beating. Whatever. My ribs are still killing me.

And now, IT had Sam.

Or maybe it didn't, but humans would never find her. I needed to look; I could see what they couldn't. Like the fragments of torn, ghostly appendages floating around the area and then faces in the green goop that covered the ground. I found that with the inability to change my eyes came the inability to block out seeing ghosts. My vision was macabre and…well, no pun intended, haunting.

Before, I had only seen ghosts who were threats, or malicious. Now, benign spirits were appearing before my new eyes. Did Cooper know the reason he was so calm in the situation was because the ghost of his deceased brother followed him? No. I glared at the boy-ghost who did not like me in the least. He rolled his eyes and curled up in his corner.

I punched the wall of the ambulance, frustrated. I couldn't phase though because of the two sitting in the front would notice. Figures. All theses powers and not one thing that could help me out!

Ok, well, my dad's handy. Whatever gun he shot off made the windshield of the vehicle suddenly popped, glass dissolving before our eyes. That did it for even Cooper, who bolted. I cheered and wrenched open the doors of the ambulance, diving headfirst into the ectoplasm.

It was like swimming through unset Jell-O, unstable and thick. Faces popped out at me and voices swirled in my head, their threats and taunts clouding my thoughts. I struggled to push them out and swam on. I hit an air pocket and gasped for my breath, my silver hair plastered to my forehead.

After that quick pause, I thrust myself back in. People sifting through the mess didn't notice me; I slid through them with ease. I searched and searched and searched…I lost track of how long it had been. My hope ebbed slightly. Was there nothing I could do? Was she…gone?

The thought wrenched at me and I accidentally inhaled the goop around me. I choked violently on it and thrust myself back up into the air. Without swapping back. I was crying too, which, when I think about it now, is embarrassing.

People around me, people I knew, fled, terrified. They didn't know it was me, how could they? I fell over and sniffled miserably.

"GHOST!"

Uh oh…

I dodged and felt the shot graze my head. My father stood threateningly about twenty feet away with a very nasty looking gun. I heard the technology in it click and whine, reloading for another shot at my head. I shot wildly back into the ectoplasm sea and made for the school basement.

It was a mess and dark, much like my mood. I found an air pocket and curled up, wondering if anyone would put two and two together here or if they were all really as stupid as I took them to be. I changed back to human boy and slid back into the sticky, lime color substance to swim for the surface.

Red shone from some dark corner of the basement and I felt my fear rise. I couldn't change in the midst of all these other ghosts, I feared something would go wrong and I'd take one of them into me. I heard a feeble voice calling out, teasing me.

"Pretty, pretty, I have your pretty." Red eyes blinked with a dim light from that wretched corner. It summoned its last vestiges of strength from the ectoplasm around it and roared at me, before its light extinguished. I plunged towards the fading light as it illuminated a body.

Sam was seemingly unharmed, but terribly cold as I pulled her frantically towards the medical attention she needed. As I broke the surface, gasping like a fish out of water, I pulled her head out the green sea and cradled it until my yelling brought someone to our air. They pulled us out and ushered me to where Cooper and Harris were with ambulance. The little boy-ghost, perched on the roof of the vehicle, glanced at us dolefully, shaking his head.

"Shut it you." I spat at him, climbing into the ambulance. Sam stirred on her stretcher and I leapt towards her. As soon on my hand hit her arm though…voices flooded my mind. They were in her? That's how they were surviving? I jerked my hand back as if I'd been burnt. The next chance I was alone with her…I'd have to get them out.

**DUDE! **Haha, I ain't dead just yet. XP Enjoy. – Dru


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